


A Beautiful Mess

by amelialourdes



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: AU, Doctor Luke, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:08:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 69,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29395284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amelialourdes/pseuds/amelialourdes
Summary: Luke is a pediatrician! He is officially Dr. Luke Snyder.
Relationships: Reid Oliver/Luke Snyder
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was inspired by this entry in lure_prompts by the brill _alicesprings. (He even looks like he's wearing scrubs! I think he'd be a paediatrician, and all the kids would love him and his big stupid smile. And Reid would too, of course, and hate himself for falling for a paediatrician.) I mean, they look like scrubs! Right? This will be categorized as an AU but still many references to the show's canon regarding both Luke and Reid's individual pasts.

"Dr. Oliver? You have a meeting in five minutes," his secretary quickly pops her head into his office to remind him.

"Oh, right." Reid's been getting caught up with a huge amount of paperwork. He's just sold his condo in Dallas and the entire process took longer than expected, keeping him there much longer than necessary.

"They're providing lunch," she continues. "A whole tray of sandwiches straight from the deli." As if that is even a factor for him. It is.

"Okay, so," he closes a folder and stands, walking around his desk. "Page me in an emergency and page me in about 20 minutes because I know I'll be bored out of my skull."

He marches past her and hears her laugh, "You got it, boss."

Reid _hates_ these monthly mandatory meetings. He's only been with Memorial Hospital's new neurology wing for three months but he finds them pointless. Dr. Bob Hughes, the chief of staff, insists on monthly meetings to discuss the future of the hospital. But, it usually turns into meet and greets with new staff and discussions revolving around people's personal lives. Reid doesn't have a personal life, nor does he want one, nor does he want to know about anyone else's.

The only reason he's on time for these things is to raid the deli tray.

Almost everyone is seated when Reid arrives and he makes a beeline for the food, fingers wiggling in anticipation as he looks at the generous spread.

"Ah, Dr. Oliver," Bob greets him. He's one of the last to arrive so he receives plenty of attention when he makes his entrance.

"Dr. Hughes," Reid nods, grabbing a small plate and piling on four of the mini-croissant sandwiches. There are four varieties. He's getting all four.

Once he's finished, he takes a seat, and starts in on the first one. They're perfectly bite-sized but he'll maintain a modicum of restraint in a room full of his colleagues. It seems like a fruitless attempt when he lifts his head and finds all eyes on him.

"What?" he mumbles, mouth full as he speaks around a bite.

Bob only shakes his head as Reid shrugs his shoulders and straights his notes, "Welcome, everyone. I hope you had a pleasant weekend. The first order of business we ---"

The door slams open and everyone's attention is diverted to it. "Sorry," this man apologizes, a flush of red on his cheeks when he realizes he's caused a commotion. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be late. I got a little caught up." He takes in a deep breath and sits down in the open seat next to Reid.

"Please, don't worry about it Dr. Snyder. We were just beginning. Help yourself to some water or coffee," Bob offers and Dr. Snyder shakes his head as he makes himself comfortable, taking out a folder from his messenger bag.

Reid thinks that the "doctor" can't possibly more than 20. If he's already reserving the nickname Doogie Hughes for Dr. Chris Hughes in pediatrics, what is he gonna call this kid?

Reid just finishes his bite and turns his attention back to Bob.

"Sorry," Dr. Snyder apologizes when he moves his chair and accidentally hits Reid's arm. Reid just looks over at him, mid-chew, and tries to listen to what's going on at the front of the room. But, the kid is incredibly distracting. He's fixing his papers, putting his bag on the ground, adjusting his chair, and getting on Reid's last nerve.

"And now, I'll let Dr. Snyder take the floor. As some of you know, Dr. Snyder is one of our newly hired pediatricians in our newly renovated pediatrics department. He has some ideas regarding the department that I'd like him to share with you all. Dr. Snyder."

"Um, yes," Dr. Snyder clears his throat and glances down at his notes. "Hi, I'm Luke, and I would prefer you all call me that in non-professional settings or if you just run into me in the cafeteria or something," he chuckles, noticeably nervous. But, mostly everyone seems charmed by it rather than put off. "I do have a couple of ideas for the department and one requires the involvement of other members of the staff."

Reid hates the sound of this already.

"I know that there's a small holiday party for the kids in the department but it's small. It's in a room and the room is decorated but that's it. Some of these kids are here for months and they experience the holidays within closed walls. I want to allow these kids to have the opportunity to be like any other kid during those times when they need it most. They should be able to go trick-or-treating during Halloween and have a big family Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving--"

"And, what, we're going to take the little cherubs door-to-door away from hospital care for a piece of candy or two?" Reid interrupts.

Luke looks over at him, a look of surprise on his face. "Uh, no. I was getting to that," his tone is clipped when he responds and Reid holds back an eye roll. "What I want to do is expand on that idea. Either hold a trick-or-treating type of event inside the hospital. Most of you decorate for Halloween anyway so maybe the kids can knock on your doors and get candy."

There are mumbles of positive responses in the room, not a single of them against this idea. Reid's obviously overruled.

"Thanksgiving, I'd like to arrange a family style Thanksgiving and use the cafeteria instead of delivering the meals to their rooms so that they're able to interact with the other kids and the families will be able to interact with each other. It will allow them to have a shared experience, shared positive memories. Not only will it be beneficial to the kids but to the families as well."

"That's a really great, Luke," Doogie pipes up from his seat. "Where are we gonna get the resources for this though? The hospital's budget goes to making improvements on the hospital."

"Yeah, that's where my other idea or suggestion comes in. My grandmother runs a foundation whose sole purpose is to grant organizations or institutions with enough funding for developing projects. If I manage to convince everyone here then the funding is taken care of for the rest of the year. I'm focusing only on the upcoming holidays, for now. Halloween's coming up soon and then Thanksgiving and finally, Christmas."

Reid thinks a philanthropic grandmother and a doctor for a grandson equals one very well-to-do family. He almost scoffs and he should've since Dr. Snyder's suggestion is met with more positive reinforcement. Voices start to ring out in chorus:

"That's so wonderful, Luke."

"I'm surprised it hasn't been done before, Dr. Snyder."

"This would be perfect for the kids and I'd love to help out!"

"If there's anything we can do to contribute, please, let us know."

Reid stays silent and works on finishing his second sandwich.

"I'd like to have many of you help but I understand that sometimes it isn't always possible and you have packed schedules. So, anything that you can do to contribute whether it be your time or even a bag of candy for Halloween, I appreciate it."

Reid glances over at him, wondering if this walking Hallmark card is for real.

"Excellent, thank you, Luke," Dr. Hughes takes the reins once again and once again, the conversation sways from hospital business to everyone's weekend plans. Thankfully, he has a very loyal secretary.

His pager goes off just as Dr. Taylor starts to talk about spending a long weekend in Vermont or New York or Timbuktu, Reid doesn't care. "That's me," Reid speaks quickly as he stands, glancing down at his pager.

"Dr. Oliver," Bob calls out to him before he can bolt to the door. "Sit down," he says sternly. "You've been pulling that same trick during every monthly meeting. Do you really think we haven't caught on by now?" Hearing chuckles around the room, he releases a loud sigh, and looks up at the ceiling.

Then, he looks over at the table full of food. "Fine, but you guys talk and I eat."

"I think we can live with that," Bob smirks, obviously amused despite his attempt to hide it.

Reid reaches for his plate and fills it for the second time. Dr. Taylor starts to speak again about his upcoming trip, where they're planning on staying, and when he gets to the part where the room comes with a free breakfast package, he comments, "Oh for the love of ---"

"Dr. Oliver?" Bob interrupts. When he has Reid's attention, he says, "Eat your sandwich."

\---

It's been four days since the meeting. It's now Friday and Reid escorts one of his patients to the door of his office. "Call me if you have any questions but, you shouldn't. I've explained the procedure thoroughly, you're in my very experienced hands, and the only reassurance that you should need is that I'm amazing at what I do." He opens the door, gives her a flash of a smile that's almost sincere, and she leaves without saying a word, mouth still swinging open in surprise over his lack of bedside manner.

Reid huffs out a breath and is about to walk back to his desk when he hears, "Dr. Oliver."

It's the pediatrician. Snyder. Still no nickname. "Yes, Dr. Snyder?"

"I thought that I could talk to you for a minute about what I discussed last Monday at the meeting?" Reid notices that he's holding a folder in his hand and he reaches into his pocket to take a pen from his lab coat.

"Regarding?"

"The hospital Halloween trick-or-treat?"

"Oh. That." Rolling his eyes, Reid walks back to his desk, and takes a seat behind it, going back to reading his patient files. "What about it?" he asks, looking down at a chart.

"You're the only one who hasn't spoken to me about it or volunteered to stay after hours."

"And why would I wanna do that?"

When there's nothing but silence for a minute, Reid looks up from his paperwork to find a smirking Dr. Snyder.

"What?"

"They warned me about you," Luke says knowingly and takes a seat in the chair positioned in front of the desk. "I was going down my list and mentioned that you hadn't volunteered for anything and they told me that you probably would when hell freezes over."

"Do you really not have anything better to do with your time, Dr. Snyder? You have to skip from room to room to gossip about me?"

"Just give me one good reason why you don't wanna do this. You don't feel any sympathy for those kids? Those poor, sick kids who have to be stuck inside of a hospital instead of out there with their friends, brothers and sisters, cousins, doing all the normal things that ---"

"What you don't seem to understand Dr. Snyder is that those kids are in here for a reason. They _aren't_ like the normal kids. They're going through things that no kid should have to go through but they're doing it and by being in here, inside these walls? They're getting better. Why is this so important to you? Brother undergoing surgery? Cousin break their leg?"

"Me, Dr. Oliver. I was in the hospital. I was a kid with a kidney transplant and I was stuck inside of these same walls. I know _exactly_ what it was like to be in here and not feel like a normal, regular kid. And you know what, Dr. Oliver? I was a normal kid. I was just going through a really bad time. But, I don't think that you'd know anything about that. Would you?"

They stare at one another, gazes unwavering, unflinching, and Luke's the first one to blink and shuts his folder. He stands up from the chair, about to make a hasty exit when he changes his mind and walks back to the desk. He's directly in front of it, hands pressed against the wooden surface, leaning in, and making an attempt to look menacing.

"On second thought, no, I don't think that you would know anything about that. You, the brilliant neurosurgeon that people recognize and acknowledge but no one really knows. No one knows anything about you and you don't make an attempt to know anyone else. I've been here for less than two weeks and I know something about almost everyone in this hospital but you."

"Dr. Snyder," he stands up from his chair, hands in the pockets of his lab coat. "What you don't understand is that I have one purpose here and one purpose only and that's to help my patients. So, take your little extracurricular activity and go find someone else to play with in the sandbox."

The anger radiates in waves from Luke. If looks can kill, Reid's dead on the floor. Luke's eyes bore into his, the anger obvious in his expression, and instead of saying anything else, he turns around and he leaves. Reid's surprised he doesn't slam the door behind him. Instead, he leaves it open, and marches down the empty hallway, his footsteps echoing on the tile.

Dr. Snyder leaves him feeling drained. If he's honest, this is the most interesting thing that's happened since he's arrived at Memorial. No one here's ever confronted him like that regarding his behavior. He's been himself since day one and as long as he's efficient at his job, there are no complaints.

Reid tries to shake off the feeling but it sticks with him and he ends up going home not too long after the confrontation. Hopefully he won't have to deal with Dr. Snyder anytime soon.

\---

Of course, that's not what happens. Reid starts to run into Luke _everywhere_. He's in the pharmacy, filling a prescription. He's in the cafeteria laughing with Doogie Hughes over something ridiculous, no doubt. He's in the hallway, in the break room, and eventually, they meet at the coffee dispenser one afternoon.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were stalking me," Reid comments as he reaches for the coffee pot.

"What are you talking about?" Luke reaches for the coffee pot at the same time but pulls his hand away when he sees that it's gone.

"I've been seeing you everywhere I go lately," he mentions as he fills his mug and then passes the pot to Dr. Snyder.

"Funny, I haven't noticed. Thanks," he takes the pot and pours himself a cup.

They move to the counter where they can fix their coffees the way that they like it, still standing next to one another. "Everyone all ready for the trick-or-treating extravaganza?" Reid finds that he can't stop the words from escaping.

"What do you care?" They glance at each other and he sees Luke smirking.

"You're right, I don't," he agrees.

"But, if you're curious, yeah. The kids are excited. The decorations are gonna start going up this week so if you want to avoid them then you're gonna have to keep your head down as you walk through the hallways," he's practically beaming as he says it and Reid rolls his eyes.

"Thanks for the warning," he sips his coffee. Too bitter. He adds more sugar.

Luke stops stirring his drink and turns to look at Reid. "Dr. Oliver, the very least you can do is stick a bowl of candy outside of your office. You don't even have to buy it. Put the bowl out and I'll put the candy in myself."

"Why do you need me to participate in this? You have the whole team on board. Aren't they enough?"

"They're enough. But, I think that if the kids go to each door, they'll know that everyone here cares about their well-being. _Everyone_."

"They're not going to go around and count every single door to see who's giving them candy and who's not."

Luke just smirks and shrugs his shoulders, picking up his mug. "Put the bowl out and I'll take care of it."

Reid says nothing as Luke begins to walk away. That all seems too easy. He doesn't even have a bowl.

After getting his coffee, he walks back to his office, and is about to walk to the door when he pauses. Sighing, he glances over at his secretary. "Jaymie?" She turns to look at him. "Go buy a large plastic bowl before the end of the week and just ... leave it outside the door." She looks at him curiously but nods, turning to write it down on her notepad.

Slumping his shoulders, he opens the door, trudges into his office, and closes the door behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks later, Reid walks straight into Dr. Snyder's office, opening the door without knocking. "What the hell is this?" Reid asks, holding up a piece of paper. On it is the scavenger hunt list and there listed at #12 is: "Collect two dollar coin candies from Dr. Oliver's office and return to Dr. Snyder's office."

Luke smiles as he reaches forward and takes the list from Reid's hand. " _That_ is the fun scavenger hunt we had a few days ago on Halloween. If you were here, you would've known that." There's that beaming smile again, hands folded in front of him, and he thinks he's being so clever.

"That is not what I agreed to. I thought that they were just gonna do the door-to-door thing."

"What ramifications can you possibly be facing because of this? People will, god forbid, think that you're a nice guy? People will cross your path and actually speak to you instead of cowering away in fear?"

"No, this," Reid tosses another piece of paper on his desk and Luke laughs when he sees it. "Shut up," Reid scowls and shakes his head.

Luke begins to read from the paper, "'Dear. Dr. Olvr ... or Oliver, thank you for the candy. Big hugs! Sarah.' That is just too cute."

"I don't do cute, Dr. Snyder, and I would've appreciated a warning before I opened my door to all the little cutesy hand drawn letters of thanks from the little germ breeders in peds." Reid crosses his arms over his body and Luke just smirks and stands.

"Don't worry. I hand delivered the letters this morning. No one saw a thing. Your secretary did but she's pretty loyal to you and gave me the third degree."

Reid scrutinizes him, wondering what his angle is here. "All right, but they better keep their mouths shut about this."

"They made letters for other doctors. They probably won't even remember your name, okay?" he chuckles and reaches for his legal pad, grabbing a pen. "Come on, let's go."

"Go where?"

"Uh, hospital meeting? It's this morning."

Reid's completely forgotten about it and he shakes his head. "Again? Didn't we just have one of those?"

"Yeah, we have them more than once a month, you know. Let's go," Dr. Snyder's about to walk past him and Reid reaches out to grab his arm. They both look at each other, pausing for just a second, and Reid quickly drops his hand but smiles a little at him. Luke looks at him suspiciously. "What?"

"I did something for you and I think that you should return the favor."

"Huh?"

\---

The waitress places a hamburger with fries in front of Reid and then the same order in front of Luke. Luke looks across the table at him and shakes his head as he picks up a fry. "I can't believe you talked me into this," he says when he takes a bite.

"Not only that but you're paying." When he sees the worried expression on the man sitting across from him, he tells him, "Relax. It's one hour and then we're back at the hospital," Reid has a burger with everything on it and Luke watches in awe when he takes his first bite, his jaw opening so wide that it looks like he's unlocked it and then snaps it back into place when he eats.

"How can you eat like that?" he fixes his own burger but it's not as packed as Reid's.

"Easy, watch me," Reid speaks with his mouth full and takes another bite.

Luke looks down at his food and only looks up again once Reid swallows. "I was supposed to let everyone know how the Halloween event went at the meeting today."

Reid pops a couple of fries into his mouth and folds his fingers in front of him. "Are you kidding me? Are you telling me that they don't know already? Most of them were there."

"It's kind of like a status report thing that Bob wanted me to give."

"Bob?" Reid wonders about the casual way he mentions his name. "No, Dr. Hughes for you? You both are that close? I thought you've only been working here for a few weeks." Reid can't believe that he remembers that little piece of trivia.

"I grew up here in Oakdale." Luke tells him before he takes a bite of his burger. It's a reasonable bite, unlike the way Reid eats. After he swallows, he continues, "I went to undergrad here, then the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, and then stayed in Chicago for my residency. Finally, I did a fellowship in Connecticut." Reid's eyes are on him and Luke says, "What?"

"You look like you're 18. How'd you manage to do all that?"

Luke chuckles, "Well, I told you I was in the hospital. I had to be home schooled afterward and ended up graduating from high school at 17. After four years, got my BS, and then my MD, and ... don't you know how the rest of this goes or are you just fishing to figure out how old I am?" Reid's mouth is wrapped around a straw, drinking his soda, but keeping his eyes on Luke. "I'm 29."

That almost makes Reid spit out his drink. Luke's age surprises him. "Mommy and Daddy have a good set of genes." He says it before he can take it back.

Luke looks at him, a small smile on his face before he ducks his head, looking down at his food. That move makes Reid furrow his brow, ignoring the little kick that he feels in his stomach. He must still be hungry. He continues to eat and they both let Reid's comment go.

"What about you? You leave a clinic in Dallas to come here?" Luke asks.

Reid's about to ask him how he knows about that but since Luke's pretty connected to just about everyone in the hospital, and probably this town, he doesn't bother with the simple inquiry. "Bob offered me the position. As the top neurologist in the country, it makes sense that he offered it to me first."

Luke laughs and nods, "Well, of course."

Reid smirks, "It really is an incredible state-of-the-art facility and Bob was open to my suggestions for improvement when I got here a few months ago. They're still bringing in new equipment and the better that they make the wing, the better the hospital will be able to help the patients who walk through its doors." The seriousness of his tone is balanced by the squirt of the ketchup bottle as he squeezes it out on his plate.

Luke lifts one his fries and swipes it through the ketchup on Reid's place before Reid can get to it. Then, he pops it into his mouth with Reid watching his every move. "Dr. Oliver, you're not the heartless jerk that you appear to be."

"Thanks?"

"Don't worry. I'll never tell."

"See that you don't, Dr. Snyder."

They both share a smile and continue to eat. Reid thinks that this isn't a bad way to kill an hour to get out of a meeting.

\---

The following week is uneventful. Luke already has plans for the next holiday and Reid knows this because he's been running into Reid and sometimes dropping by his office when they're both there, sometimes talking about the plans. Reid's calling them, "The Plans" and Luke gets a kick out of that.

Luke's busiest hours are in the morning and in the late afternoon. Sometimes he even stays past office hours to accommodate the parents who can't take the day off from work to make an appointment.

Reid can be busy at any time of day. But, not everyone in Oakdale has a problem with their head so he can't be busy all the time. He's experiencing a bit of down time because of the holidays. Patients schedule to come in around mid-November and often reschedule because they want to come in after the holidays. He's been hearing the phrase "after the holidays" often. Reid doesn't have an "after the holidays". There's the day before that Thanksgiving day, Thanksgiving, and then after Thanksgiving.

"What do you mean you don't have any plans for Thanksgiving?" Luke asks as he flips through one of Reid's medical journals. Reid's latest article's on Page 46. Luke insisted on reading it so he's back in Reid's office, raiding his magazines.

"I never have any plans for Thanksgiving. What's the big deal?"

"Uh, the big deal is that it's one of the top holidays for food and you're telling me that you don't do anything for it. What about going to see your parents? Your friends?"

How Dr. Snyder manages to shoot all these questions out at him can be exasperating. This time is no exception. "Just drop it, Dr. Snyder. I'll find a nice pumpkin pie somewhere and eat it in one sitting."

"That's unacceptable especially for you. Come over to my grandmother's place for Thanksgiving. I'm planning on going there after our Thanksgiving here. I don't need to be here for the whole thing."

"Dr --"

"It's Luke."

"Dr. Snyder, what's with you and your crusade to force me into the holidays? First Halloween and now this? Just leave me alone."

"Fine," Luke shuts the magazine, throws it on Reid's desk, and gets up out of the chair to leave. "You got it."

It all happens so quickly that Reid doesn't even blink and he sees that Luke's left his office, closing the door behind him. It shouldn't bother him. It's not as if he asks for Dr. Snyder's company. He just shows up.

Reid continues to reply to e-mails but images of Luke's angry face continue to enter his mind, distracting him from the task at hand. He's reminded that he has a consult in a few minutes so at least he doesn't have to continue to pretend he's working on these replies. All he has to do is keep his mind on the next patient, the patient charts, the x-rays, and he'll be fine. He'll be fine.

\---

"Dr. Oliver, this is for you," Jaymie hands him a brown package, addressed to him, no return address, and it just has his name on the top in black marker. He doesn't recognize the handwriting.

"Thanks. Let me know if Mrs. Hansen calls. She's waiting for the results of her blood test," he takes the package from her and she nods.

He opens the door to his office and removes his jacket, hanging it up before he walks around his desk and sits down. Taking his letter opener, he cuts the sides of the package, and unwraps it.

Inside is a tin with a turkey on the front of it.

"What ..."

He opens the tin and there's a note on top and underneath it, wrapped in ziploc bags are cookies. He looks at the note and it reads:

_Sorry about the other day. Just think about Thanksgiving. My Grandma Emma made these and there are more where they came from._

Luke

Unable to help himself, he takes one of the cookies out, and takes a bite. His tongue is hit with a taste of the peanut butter and the cookie just melts in his mouth. He finishes the first one quickly and he's about to have a second when his pager goes off.

"Damn," he mumbles, glancing down at the page. It's from the emergency room.

He quickly chews, swallows, and then he heads off to the ER.

When he enters, the EMTs speak to him in clipped sentences, car accident, blunt trauma, no internal injuries sustained, and barely conscious.

"Katie? Katie!" he hears someone behind them and he's surprised to see Doogie there, yelling this woman's name. "Reid, is she okay? Is she all right? Christ!"

"Chris, you're gonna have to stand back, okay? Let us take care of this," he tells him and then he walks behind the curtain to attend to her. He thinks that's the first time that he's ever called him by his name.

He does a basic examination but she's barely conscious. They order a CT scan for her and he'll be in the room to exam the results. They take her into the room with the machine. Once they have her set up, it takes a few minutes to do the head scan. He's right there to see the scans on the computer monitor.

When he spots the bleed in her brain, he considers how to proceed. He sees the swelling and decides to alleviate the building pressure with surgery.

They're in and out of there relatively quickly. It's a pretty standard surgery by all accounts. She's perfect throughout, blood pressure's normal, vital signs are stable, and he finds no reason not to do the surgery. He monitors her closely when it's all over.

Chris finds him and tells him what happened. The ER doctor's already told him but Chris has a first-hand account. "I ... I was behind her. We were going to lunch and she was ... the car came out of nowhere and I think she hit her head on the wheel." The other driver sustained no injuries, surprisingly. "She seemed okay the scene but she must've blacked out in the ambulance. I drove behind them so I don't really know."

"She's okay," Reid tells him, in an attempt at reassurance but he doesn't really know that yet. It depends on what happens when she wakes up.

"It was supposed to be our first kind of date," Chris chuckles humorlessly and Reid holds in a sigh.

"There'll be others," he tells him, walking away from her bed, and leaving Chris behind. "I'll be back to check in on her." Chris just nods but ignores him, keeping his eyes on Katie.

Reid finds that he isn't able to attend to her until later in the evening. When he opens the door to her room, he finds Luke there instead of Chris. He's in a chair and he looks like he's half asleep but he's there. When the door opens, Luke slowly turns his head toward him.

"Hey," he greets him as Reid steps inside.

"Hey, know her?" he asks as he grabs the patient chart.

"Yeah, sort of related ... through marriage." He doesn't elaborate further and Reid doesn't pry. "I had to cover Chris's shift since he was here all day. He had to go home and rest."

"Sounds like that's something that you need to be doing too." Luke nods and turns his attention back to Katie. "I, uh, got the tin," he mentions as he flips through a page on the chart. "Only got to eat one before I got paged but it was pretty good."

"Pretty good?" Luke laughs. "That must be code for the best damn thing you've ever tasted."

Reid smiles and writes some notes into Katie's file. "She hasn't woken up since you've been in here?"

"No. Vitals have been good, stable. Hasn't regained consciousness yet but I think she will soon."

"Yeah, I should be here for that," Reid rubs his eyes with his thumb and middle finger and doesn't realize how tired he is.

"You should but maybe you should go home and get some rest too."

"Yeah," he agrees. He places the chart back in its place and Luke stands, giving her hand a squeeze before he walks out of her room with Reid. "I am sorry about before when I was in your office. I think that I was just ..."

"Overreacting?" Reid fills in the blank.

"Overreacting to your comment," Luke agrees. "You don't have to do anything that you don't wanna do and I guess I have been pressuring you into some things. But, like I said, the Thanksgiving invite is still open to you." They begin to walk down the hallway toward Reid's office. He has to pick up his things and Luke's office isn't too far away.

They stop in front of Reid's door. "Well, here's my stop," Reid motions toward his office.

"Mhmm," Luke nods and sticks his hands into his lab coat pockets. His eyes move from Reid's to Reid's lips and back again to his eyes. It's an obvious move. Reid eyes him in the same way but takes in a quick breath, reaching behind him to open his door.

"I'll see you, Dr. Snyder."

"Goodnight, Dr. Oliver." Luke bites his lower lip and turns to walk down the hall toward his office.

Reid walks through the door and closes it behind him. His heart's beating wildly in his chest and he closes his eyes as he leans against the door, waiting to catch his breath.

Shaking his head, he mutters to himself, "Get a grip, Oliver."

Then he begins to think back to just a minute ago, Luke's eyes, his body close to his, lips pink and moist. Rubbing the back of his neck, he wonders, "What was that about?"


	3. Chapter 3

Two days later, Katie Snyder is awake, and Reid's having a very hard time believing that she and Luke aren't biologically related. They both have that bright, wide-eyed expression and they both can talk non-stop.

"I'm not really dating Chris. I mean, not yet. I don't think so. We were gonna but obviously we never got there," she chuckles as Reid continues his exam of her. "So we were --"

"Mrs. Snyder --"

"Katie, come on. It's Katie, Dr. Oliver."

"You are just as persistent as that cousin of yours," he mutters as he presses the stethoscope to her chest. "Inhale deeply, good. Exhale. And now follow the light," he does all the procedures in a row and then she feels free to continue.

"Luke, right? He's told me about you. Are you guys ... I mean, you're not ..."

"Mrs -- Katie, follow the light," he tells her again as he moves the flashlight back and forth.

"It just sounds like you guys are spending a lot of time together. That's all. I think that it'd be nice. Luke isn't seeing anyone and I don't think that you're ..."

"Katie, this really isn't any of your business," he takes the light away to tell her that and she holds her hands up in surrender but she's smiling to herself, not letting him in on the joke.

She's doing okay and he tells her that he's keeping her for observation. She seems to be fine with it. With Chris attending to her every whim and Luke visiting every so often, along with half of Oakdale, she's doing okay.

It's not as if Katie's ... train of thought hasn't crossed his mind once or twice. His gaydar is still fully-functioning and he's pinged Dr. Snyder since day one. But, it doesn't mean anything. Just because they appear to be the only two gay men in this entire town doesn't mean that that should be reason enough to get together.

He's been thinking about that move the other night. Luke's lips, full, pouty, and his eyes zeroed in on Reid. Part of him thinks that he's imagined the whole thing. They were both exhausted and Luke hasn't been by to see him once. It had been nothing. It is nothing.

"I'll be back to check on you later," Reid tells her after he's finished. "Get some rest or I'll limit your visitors," he threatens.

"You could try but I doubt you can enforce it," she smiles at him and that earns her an eye roll from him as he leaves her room.

Just as he opens the door and turns the corner, he runs straight into a body. "Sorry," he apologizes.

"My fault," Luke smiles at him.

"Hey," Reid speaks, surprised. He doesn't know why he's surprised. He knows Luke comes to see Katie.

"Hey, are you gonna be in your office later?" That's just about the last thing that he expects him to say. "I never finished reading that article."

"I could just give it to you."

"No, I'll drop by. Are you gonna be there?"

"Yeah," Reid nods.

"Okay. See you then," Luke leaves him with another smile, walking around Reid to go visit Katie.

That's a really strange exchange and one he doesn't expect. It's not as if Luke can't get that article somewhere else. It's probably in the waiting room of the hospital or online by now.

Reid lets it go for now and proceeds to his next appointment.

He doesn't get back to his office until later in the afternoon. Jaymie's taking a break so she isn't at her desk. As soon as Reid walks into his office, the door closes behind him, the sound of the heavy lock clicking into place startles him. He turns around suddenly, shutting the patient file he has in his hands. There's a small amount of light coming from the frosted glass panels that allows him to see who's there.

"Dr. Snyder? What are you ..."

"Reid, shut up," Luke comes closer and just like the other night, they both look at each other's lips in the dim light. Luke's the one who looks down and takes the file away from Reid, dropping it on the floor. Luke looks at him again and his hand snakes past his lab coat to touch his waist. Reid feels the warmth of his palm through his shirt and it hits his skin like electricity.

Reid's hand raises of its own will, cupping the side of Luke's face. They both lean forward and share a kiss.

It's all heat and passion, a feeling of warmth traveling through Reid's body as Luke returns his kiss. Reid's fingers curl and clutch the back of Luke's neck. Luke's hand comes up to cup the other side of Reid's face, thumb pressed gently against his cheek. Their lips move together perfectly, heatedly, Luke groaning into the kiss. That sound goes directly to Reid's cock, his arousal becoming evident the longer they kiss.

Luke takes a step forward and Reid takes a step back until his body hits the desk.

Then they both hear something hitting the ground outside of his office. They haven't turned on the light so no one knows that they're in here. The more they move into the room away from the fluorescent light in the hallway, the darker it becomes. They both stop kissing, freezing in place as if they're about to get caught. When they realize that no one's going to open the door, they look at each other, and simultaneously release the breaths that they're holding.

"Close one," Luke whispers.

"What are you doing?" Reid asks him, his hand falling down to Luke's shoulder.

"I'm ... I don't know. Do I have to know?"

Reid isn't sure if that's the answer that he's looking for. He wants to say that he does have to know. But, he doesn't really know what he's doing either. At the moment, he doesn't really care. One minute they're colleagues and then colleagues who see each other and now, now what?

"No," Reid tells him before he leans in to kiss him again. It feels too good and it isn't just because Dr. Snyder's available. It's difficult to think and that's the first time in a long time that he's ever experienced that.

Luke's hand moves from Reid's waist and cups him through his scrubs. He can feel how hard he already is. Reid moans against Luke's lips and that makes Luke chuckle. "Shh, secretary's right outside," he reminds him.

"You're not exactly the silent type, Dr. Snyder," Reid gives him his own reminder.

"Point taken. I guess I need to find a way to keep me quiet." Luke pulls the string on Reid's scrubs, leaving them loose around his hips. Sinking down to his knees, he pulls down his scrubs and underwear, finding his cock in the darkness.

Reid holds in a moan, bringing his hand to Luke's hair, and holding on when he feels Luke begin to stroke him.

He takes a tentative lick over the head of his cock and without hesitating, takes him into his hot, wet mouth. He strokes while he sucks on him and Reid's grip tightens on his hair.

It's been a long time. It's been a long, long, long time. His work has been a strong distraction. He's often so exhausted that he goes home, eats, watches some television, and goes straight to bed. He's become really familiar with his right hand over the past few months. It's just too much trouble to find a willing body in such a small town.

Luke's good. Luke's better than good and he's going slowly despite the fact that someone can walk in here at any time. Jaymie can walk in here to drop off his mail or a message.

When Luke begins to take him down deeper, feeling the head of his cock hitting the back of Luke's throat, Reid swallows a moan.

Luke bobs his head up and down faster, stroking the area of his cock that he's unable to reach with his mouth. With his other hand, he reaches underneath Reid's shirt, fingers caressing his stomach, and finding a nipple, pinching and tugging.

Reid reaches back to grip the edge of his desk, biting his lip to keep the noise in. His hips begin to thrust forward, fucking Luke's mouth with his cock. Luke takes it, encouraging it as he moans around his cock and continues to play with his nipples.

It only goes on for another few minutes before Reid's unable to take any more. "I'm gonna come," he speaks quickly, telling him in case Luke wants to pull away.

When it happens, Reid's orgasm hitting him hard and in waves, Luke doesn't pull away. He stays right where he is, lips tight around him, and swallowing. The move is surprising and Reid trembles with pleasure at the thought. As if that isn't enough, Luke licks him clean, tasting him right at the tip, his tongue moving over his opening.

He finishes, tucking Reid back into his underwear, and then pulls up his pants, tying the knot just tight enough so that his scrubs don't fall.

Reid's about to reach forward for Luke, getting as far as touching his cock through his pants but Luke takes a small step back. "No," Luke tells him and then leans in to kiss him, sliding his tongue into Reid's mouth so he can get a taste of himself. Luke's fingers move through Reid's hair before he pulls back, whispering, "Meet me later tonight, around 9. Your place?"

He realizes that Luke can't see him in the dark office so he responds, "Yeah."

"Okay," he leaves him with one more kiss and then he walks to the door. He opens it a little, quietly to make sure that there's no one out there. Jaymie's left again so Luke slips out.

Reid runs his fingers through his hair and then walks over to turn on the light.

The first thing that comes into view is the desk.

With the light on, it's as if nothing ever happened. The desk remains immaculate, everything in its place except for the cardholder that holds his business cards. It's shifted over to the left and the cards are scattered on his desk. It's the only evidence that remains of what they've just done together.

Reid relives it when he closes his eyes, every moan and every sensation.

"Dr. Oliver?" he jumps a little at the sound of Jaymie's voice and he finds that his hand is still on the light switch.

Clearing his throat, he turns around, and nods, "Yes?"

"There's a Mr. Hill here to see you for a follow-up."

"Oh, okay. I'll be right there."

Jaymie returns to her desk and he looks back at his. Taking one last look at it, he turns off the light again, and closes the door.

\---

Unfortunately, they never get to "later" because Reid's called into an emergency surgery. Before he goes in, he realizes that he doesn't have Luke's cell phone number and Luke doesn't know where Reid lives anyway. Luke has an emergency number and Reid knows that because Luke's a doctor straight from the '50s. He answers emergency phone calls and Reid bets he even makes the occasional house call if necessary.

When he finds the number in the hospital directory, he calls it, and it goes straight to voicemail. But, it does confirm that it's Luke's line. Reid leaves a brief message and hesitates when he thinks about how to reschedule their plans. In the end, he goes with a generic, "I'll see you."

The surgery lasts until early morning. It leaves him exhausted and half asleep on his feet when he changes out of his scrubs but Reid can deliver good news to the man's family and that's all that matters. A successful surgery makes him feel a surge of pride in himself, in his work. Though he knows he's great at what he does, he's also aware that there are risks, and the achievement is in assessing those risks and complications and completing a procedure with no harm to the patient.

The long surgery allows him some time to sleep in the next morning so he doesn't go to work until a little after noon, after eating a large lunch. Luke always stops by to surprise Reid so Reid thinks that it's time to turn the tables.

Just as he's about to turn the corner, he sees Luke, kneeling so that he's eye-level with a patient. He's close enough that he can hear but far enough so that he isn't noticeable.

"I know that it's scary sometimes to do things you don't wanna do but you were so brave today, buddy." The little boy is still sniffling but he nods, giving Luke a small smile. "And this is for you," Luke takes the lollipop he'd been hiding behind his back and presents it to the kid.

"What do you say, Tony?" his mother asks him, standing behind her son, one hand stroking through his hair to comfort him.

"Thank you, Dr. Snyder," he repeats, well-trained.

"You're very welcome. I hope you feel better soon and I'll see you."

One more nod from the boy, a thanks from his mother, and Luke stands up, putting his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. His eyes are following the boy but then he turns his head and sees Reid standing there around the corner. There's a smile on Luke's face the minute he spots him. Luke stands still, as if he's waiting for Reid to come to him.

Reid does walk first and stands in front of him. "Hey."

"Hi, is lurking a new hobby of yours?"

"No, I was just waiting for you to finish up with the rugrat."

"His name's Tony."

"I don't care. I'm just here because I left a message for you and I want to know if you got it."

"Yeah, I got it. Thanks. Let me make it a little easier for you to get a hold of me though. Come with me," he nods his head toward his office. "You have your phone on you?"

"Yeah."

Reid follows and Luke closes the door behind him when they reach his office. With Reid following behind, Luke's in front of him and immediately turns around to trap Reid against the door once it's shut. "I was looking forward to last night," Luke whispers.

"Me too," Reid finds himself saying back to him.

Before he can think about what's happening, they're kissing. Luke's fingers are in Reid's hair and Reid's hands are holding on to Luke's waist. Luke parts, reaching behind Reid to lock the door. Then he's right back against him, kissing him like he's a man on death row and Reid's his last meal.

"Luke," Reid murmurs his name and Luke immediately pulls away to look at him. "What?" he asks, wondering why the sudden stop.

"That's the first time you've ever said my name."

They both share a smile and are still smiling when they start to kiss again.

This time, Reid ends up on his knees (insisting on returning the favor), Luke's bare ass pressed against the door and trying to keep quiet. Being quiet is something that Dr. Snyder really isn't very good at. He keeps making these whimpering sounds that go straight to Reid's cock, making him rock hard.

Reid speeds things up just so that he can stop hearing those noises. All they make Reid want to do is turn Luke around and fuck him right up against the door. They just don't have any time for that in the middle of a work day.

Luke's fingers clutch Reid's shoulder and his hair and he warns him of his approaching orgasm. Like Luke, Reid doesn't back away. Reid's lips tighten around Luke's thick cock and he sucks down and swallows every spurt that he has to give him when he comes. Reid doesn't pull away until Luke's completely spent, his body slumping down a little.

Reid stands and helps Luke clean up, making him look presentable if a little wiped out. His hand moves in Luke's hair as he leans in to kiss him, slipping his tongue in his mouth, and Luke moans when he tastes himself there. Luke's hand presses against Reid's back and they're both thrown, startled when the phone on the desk begins to ring.

"Have a seat," he tells Reid, quickly unlocking the door, and walking over to his desk to answer the phone.

Reid takes a seat in the chair in front of the desk and he and Luke both run their fingers through their hair, trying to straight up. Luke's on the phone with the pharmacist and Reid's forgotten why he's in here. He remembers when he looks at the phone. Taking his cell phone out of his pocket, Luke motions for it, and Reid hands it over.

Luke begins to multi-task, taking care of a prescription while typing into Reid's phone.

The phone call ends before he finishes and he hangs it up, resuming his typing. Once he's finished, he hands it back to Reid. "Cell phone, home phone, pager, and emergency line." Luke takes his phone out and hands it to Reid. The move makes Reid raise his eyebrows and Luke smiles widely, waiting patiently.

Reid types in his cell phone number, he doesn't have a home phone line, no one has access to his pager number except for the hospital, and he definitely doesn't have an emergency line. So, it doesn't nearly take him as long to hand the phone back to Luke.

"So, how about dinner tonight?" Reid asks.

"Oh, I, uh ... I can't. I've got something going on tonight."

"Okay, how about tomorrow?"

"I'm kind of busy for the rest of the week. But, let's plan something for the weekend." The weekend is a few days away and it's too early to plan something substantial. Reid doesn't press for more.

"Sure," Reid nods. "I gotta get going anyway." He stands and looks down at a smiling Luke, unable to keep the smile off of his own face. "Dr. Snyder," he nods.

"Dr. Oliver," Luke nods in return. Reid walks to the door and opens it, appreciating the feel of the cool air in the hallway. It's all heat in Dr. Snyder's office.

Reid finds himself smiling all the way back to his office, earning him strange looks from the hospital staff. For the first time since coming to Memorial, he doesn't even notice them.


	4. Chapter 4

It's Friday morning and Reid's just come from surgery. He's been in the operating room for a total of six hours. The removal of the brain tumor is complicated, almost inoperable on this one particular patient but Reid's studied the x-rays back and forth, upside down, every which way and sure that he could get all of it. He does.

He's changing out of his scrubs in the locker area when Luke walks in. "Hi," Luke smiles at him.

"Hey," Reid smiles back tiredly.

They've seen each other a few times since they were last together in Reid's office, although only in passing, and always for just a short time. Luke has stopped to talk a few times, but it's been brief, and when Reid runs into him in the usual places, Luke's always just on his way out. There has been some flirting and some innuendos, but they've not really had any time alone for it to progress beyond words and looks.

Reid doesn't really know what he's doing with Luke nor does he think that Luke knows what he's doing with Reid. It's obvious that they have an undeniable attraction and Reid thinks that Luke isn't bad company. But, beyond that, he isn't really sure if it's leading to be more than what it is or if that reality is something that he even wants. What he does know is that he really enjoys being around Dr. Snyder and though he wants to convince himself that it's just because they're drawn to each other physically, that funny feeling in his gut (that isn't hunger) tells him something different.

"The surgery ran that long?" Luke wonders. Reid remembers telling him about the surgery yesterday.

Reid nods, "Yeah, brain tumor. Got all of it."

"That's great," Luke comments. Reid finishes changing out of his scrubs and back into his clothes so that he can go home and go straight to bed. He finds Luke's silence a little unnerving. He doesn't remember the last time he's been in a room and Luke's allowed more than a minute of silence to pass.

When Reid turns around, he finds Luke looking over at him from his locker.

"I'm sorry, I've been ... I just want to apologize for the other day. In your office, I mean," he clarifies. "Well, what we did in your office and then in my office. I don't usually do that sort of thing. I'm not as -- I just don't really do that and I did and I'm sorry."

"No apology necessary," Reid smiles, brushing off the apology. Why would anyone apologize for a blow job?

"I liked it. Obviously, I liked it," Luke chuckles, bringing his hand up to run his fingers through his hair, then brings it back down to his side, tugging the bottom of his shirt, nervously.

"Luke," Reid interrupts him before he stumbles over a few more sentences. "Look, this," he motions between the both of them, "has been fine. It doesn't have to be anything more than what it is. You get me off and I get you off and we're still ... we're still colleagues. It doesn't change that."

"Uh, yeah," Luke nods to agree with him. "Sure," his eyes have been avoiding his gaze until he looks at Reid, giving him a small smile. Reid blinks but he swears he catches a different expression on Luke's face before that smile.

"We don't have to do things like make weekend plans so let's just see each other when we see each other." Reid begins to walk toward him, a slow saunter that he wants Luke to pay attention to until he's standing directly in front of him. "And I hope that that's soon." Reid's gaze starts from below Luke's waist and works his way up until he's looking into Luke's eyes. Luke gives him a large grin then, more genuine than the smile he received before.

"Go rest," Luke says, bringing his hand up to Reid's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'll see you."

"All right." They smile at each other and Reid grabs his phone and wallet from the bench in the middle of the room.

Without looking back at him, Reid leaves the room, and stands in front of the door before he thinks about going anywhere else. Taking in a deep breath, he looks down at his hands, feeling a little uneasy about what's just transpired. Something about the interaction doesn't sit right with him but he's too tired to think about it. After managing to dispel anymore thoughts of Dr. Snyder, he leaves to go home.

\---

It's been almost a week since the encounter in the lockers and he's sure that Luke is avoiding him. Not only has he not been coming to his office, making his random stops, he isn't in the cafeteria when Reid's there, he isn't in the hallways, he isn't in the lounge getting coffee. Reid wants to ask Doogie if Luke's on vacation or asked for time off but that would require actually talking to the loser.

Katie's been discharged during the week and she stops by before she leaves. "Hey, Dr. Oliver," she knocks on his door after announcing her arrival.

"Katie, glad to see that you're no longer confined," he smiles, pleased by her progress. She'll still have to come in for follow-ups but she's doing all right.

"Thank you, you have something to do with that."

"I have everything to do with that," Reid corrects her.

"Right," she chuckles and walks closer to his desk. "I'm supposed to go have lunch with Luke so I have to get going but I just wanted to stop by and say thank you again. I hope that I'll get to see you again."

"That's not something that everyone can say about me."

"No, it isn't," she smiles when she says it. "But, somewhere in there, I know that there's a human being just bursting to come out."

"Gross," he makes a face and reaches for his mug, taking a sip of coffee before speaking. "So, you're on your way to see Luke?"

"Yeah, we're just going to the cafeteria since he's a little busy but we'll be in there. Do you wanna join us?"

Reid shakes his head and places his mug down on the desk. "Already ate but thanks."

"Okay, take care of yourself, Reid. I'll see you around," she waves at him and then she's out the door.

Katie's the one person, other than Luke, that has expressed an interest in being around him. Not a lot of people can say that they want to be around him. To patients, he's mostly the bearer of bad news. To other people, he's more than aware of how other people see him and it's rare that people see any positive attributes when they first encounter him. He doesn't mind. He isn't out to please anyone.

But, has something about his demeanor changed that Katie thinks it's appropriate to approach him? Even with all her pestering and his rebuttals, she doesn't back away from him. She seems to think that he's approachable.

Luke. Luke's never had any boundaries when it's come to him. Even when he expresses absolutely no interest in wanting to know what Luke has planned for the numerous holiday parties or what kind of drawing one his patients has given him or what he plans on doing after work, Luke tells him anyway.

And now, Reid finds, he kind of likes it. Not for the first time this week, he finds himself thinking about Dr. Snyder.

Well, he has been invited to lunch and when has he ever turned down an invitation to food?

Leaving his office, he heads down to the cafeteria, and grabs a tray. While he's in line, he scans the room for the two, spotting them seated at a table toward the back of the room.

After collecting his lunch, he walks straight to their table, and takes the seat next to Katie. "Hello," he greets them both, settling down in his spot, and looking down at his food.

"Reid," Luke says, his voice not hiding the surprise on his face.

"Dr. Snyder, your cousin here invited me to lunch."

"Thought you weren't gonna take me up on it!" she's a bit incredulous herself at the turn of events.

"Changed my mind," he shrugs his shoulders, briefly making eye contact with Luke who immediately looks away and down at his own food.

"We were just talking about the menu change at Java. They have this peppermint latte that is to die for," Katie brings him up to speed.

"Scintillating conversation," Reid says, mouth full of biscuit.

"Ugh, disgusting," Katie shudders but she starts to eat her salad anyway.

Reid chances another look at Luke and now he's looking back at him with an amused expression. He hides his smile behind his fork but Reid sees it anyway.

Reid thinks that he's definitely made the right move here.

\---

After Katie leaves, Luke tells him that he has afternoon appointments until later tonight. Reid tells him that he has a few consults that last about that long. They agree to meet in Reid's office afterward.

After several consults and examinations, he makes it back to his office at the agreed time. He finds Luke already seated in the chair across from his. Reid closes his door behind him for some privacy. Jaymie's already gone for the day so there will be a minimum amount of interruption.

"Hey," Luke turns his head to look at him when he hears the door close.

"Hey," Reid says in reply, sticking his hands into the pockets of his lab coat.

Luke stands and smiles at him, slipping off his own lab coat, and leaving it on the chair. Reid steps closer to him until they're chest-to-chest and they both meet each other's lips in the middle. It's their first shared kiss in a while and Reid finds himself losing himself in it and in Luke.

It begins slowly for them, not as heated or hurried as it has been before. Luke's hand rests on Reid's arm and Reid's hand comes up to cup Luke's cheek.

What they're doing feels intimate and that thought doesn't scare Reid as much as it probably should.

They both just stand there, kissing. Luke's hands move to rest on Reid's waist, over his lab coat, and he's holding on to him. Reid feels the gentle squeeze of his hands there and Reid can't help but groan.

Luke pulls away then and presses his forehead to Reid's. He's breathing hard and takes in several deep breaths. The move concerns Reid who pulls away to look at him. "Hey, you okay?" Luke doesn't respond and Reid brings two fingers underneath Luke's chin, urging him to lift his head.

There's a kind of sadness in Luke's eyes that Reid spots immediately though he tries to quickly mask it, covering it with a smile. "Nothing, I'm all right. I guess I'm just tired. It's been a really long day. This kid came in with a toothpick in the middle of his hand."

"Ouch."

"Crafts project gone awry," Luke continues. "He was ... nevermind," he shakes his head.

"No, what?"

"No, it's okay. You don't wanna hear about this," Luke backs away, pulling his hands back, and sticking them into his pockets.

Something about the way that Luke says that immediately sets him off. "For almost a month now you've been coming into my office, making yourself comfortable, and going on and on about whatever pops into your head, and now you decide that there may be things that I don't want to hear?"

"Reid, let's not do this. Okay? Like you said, we're just a couple of fuck buddies. Let's not make it into anything more. I'll stop coming by and you don't have to pretend to be interested in anything I have to say," Luke tries to make his exit but Reid blocks his way.

"Hold on, I didn't say anything about being fuck buddies."

"Oh, you didn't? I should get my hearing checked by Dr. Linda because I heard it all loud and clear. You get off and I get off, we get off together, and that's it. Why should you give a crap about anything more than that, Reid?" Just as Reid's about to respond, Luke continues. "But, you know what? It's fine. Believe me, I'm good at getting off. I gave you a little demonstration before but that's just the tip of the iceberg on the things that I can do. So, name a time and a place, and we'll screw."

Reid doesn't know what to say. Luke catches him off-guard and he's never been a witness to his anger before. Not like this.

When a minute of silence has passed and Luke's said everything he needs to say, he looks down at his feet, and then he looks back at Reid. There's regret written all over his face and Reid knows the apology is coming.

"I'm sorry. I ... I ..."

"Luke," Reid says his name and Luke takes in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," he says again, speaking quietly. "I ..."

"You're right," Reid tells him. "I shouldn't give a damn about anything more than getting off with you." Luke's still looking down at their shoes and nods. "But, I do." At those words, Luke slowly lifts his head, and makes eye contact with Reid. "I don't know why I do. I really couldn't care less about the holiday parties and I haven't met anyone in your family but Katie and when you tell me how crazy they are, I don't really wanna meet any of them." Luke cracks a small smile when he says that. "But, I listen to you and you seem to care about everyone and every little thing and I've never known anyone like that before. It's ... well, it's both annoying and kind of endearing."

Reid thinks that this is probably the most that he's ever said to a person that's personal and not related to his profession. It's making him a little nervous but he finds that he can't stop talking.

"No one's ... I mean, I've been here for three months and no one's spoken more than a few words to me. We meet and you can't stop talking to me."

"This is the most that I've heard you talk, ever," Luke notices and they both laugh. When their laughter subsides, they both look at one another, Luke speaking first. "I don't have a good track record with men," he admits.

"That makes two of us."

Another minute passes when Luke asks, "So, what does this all mean?"

Reid tilts his head and thinks about it for a moment. "I think that this is the part where I ask you out."

"Is it?" Luke asks, amused.

"Yeah, yep. This is it."

"Oh," Luke laughs and quickly moves his fingers through his hair before bringing his hand down.

"So, do you wanna go out sometime?" Reid feels like he's in high school except instead of not asking anyone out and keeping only to himself, he's asking out the guy he has a crush on. It's scary as hell and even now, he can face rejection. He finds himself holding his breath, waiting for Luke's response.

"Yes."

Reid breathes a sigh of relief. This is only the beginning and for the first time in a long time, Reid feels something heavy lift from his shoulders. That one "yes" relaxes him in a way that he can't explain. But, when he looks at Luke and sees an uneasy look on his face, he realizes that there is more to that "yes" than meets the eye. The most important thing is that he's willing to find out and Luke's allowing him to do that. He hopes.


	5. Chapter 5

Reid realizes that this will be the first time that they're meeting outside of the hospital. Sure, he's seen Luke in the parking lot but that's not like meeting him at a bar or the local coffee house. It's been a long time since he's dressed for a date but he doesn't think about it too much. He has a black button-down and a pair of black jeans that he puts on, slides a belt through the belt loops, puts on his shoes, and goes to the place they've agreed to meet.

He's heard of Metro but he's never actually been there.

When he arrives, the dinner crowd is pouring in, and Luke's already sitting at a table.

"Am I late?" Reid asks, taking his seat.

"Oh, no," Luke shakes his head. "I'm early. I had to drop something off at my dad's house and came here afterward. So, you're right on time. The waiter just came over here. Let me get you something to drink."

"Already trying to get me drunk, Dr. Snyder?" he jokes.

"I don't have to get you drunk to take advantage of you," he quips, both of them smirking at the joke.

When the waiter arrives, Reid orders water. Luke seems to be drinking some kind of soda, his fingers tapping against the glass, and wiping off the condensation that's forming on it because of the ice.

"So," Reid begins when the waiter leaves, unsure of what to say.

"So, here we are," Luke completes his thought, folding his arms, and leaning forward on table.

Reid's not really good at small talk. Luke knows that. Most of the time while he's talking, Reid gives him a one word response. That's probably the only way that Luke knows he listens. Reid's used to Luke talking and he's not talking now.

In fact, he looks a little anxious.

"You okay? Yet another family crisis fanning the flames of insanity?"

Luke laughs and looks at him, really looks at him since he's been sitting across from him. Reid recognizes this Luke as the one who's come to visit him in his office. Reid's a little more at ease now.

"Well, yeah, there's always a little bit of that. I feel like you know a lot about me and I know almost nothing about you ... still. Do you lead some secret life that you're keeping hidden from everyone at the hospital? Wait, don't tell me. You're a Russian spy with plans to take over the hospital and thereby acquiring some of the most talented minds in medicine?" Luke guesses, acting completely over-the-top in a way that Reid tries not to like. But, even that he finds amusing.

"Uh, no," they both laugh. "I do what I need to do to get by. I'm great at what I do and that's all I need to be. I've only ever had one goal and that was to be a doctor and do the best damn work I can do day in and day out."

"Yeah, but what about friends? Family? Boyfriends? Hobbies?"

It's question after question with Luke and even after everything it's taken to be on this date, Reid still tries to skirt around the answers. "I like baseball?"

"Playing it?"

"Watching it."

"Oh. What's your favorite team?"

"Are you gonna ask me what my favorite color is next?"

"Re --"

The waiter arrives just in time to deliver Reid's water and waits for their orders. They haven't even looked at the menu yet and the waiter tells them that he'll be back.

Reid glances down at the menu but Luke continues to stare at him. He can feel Luke's eyes boring a hole into him from across the table and he lifts his head to meet his gaze. There's a strange expression on Luke's face and it worries Reid. He's almost sure that Luke's going to get up and leave the table.

"Was this a good idea? You and me?" he wonders. "We don't have to do this."

Reid nods, "You're right. We don't have to do this." Reid stands and Luke's about to follow suit when Reid's hand reaches out for his. He looks up at him, confused. "Come on," he urges him and Luke reaches for his hand, holding on to it as he stands.

They walk out of Metro, hand-in-hand.

\---

They walk straight into Java, order coffee, and sit across from each other at one of the small tables.

"So, what exactly was your master plan?" Luke asks, blowing over his drink and taking a small sip when it's cooled.

"Metro just seems like the kind of place you go to when you wanna get someone drunk and take them home. It's not the kind of place where you talk about friends or baseball. But, here, in a place where you can actually get a decent cup of coffee, this seems more like a place where you can talk about the mundane things."

Luke hides his smile behind his mug and looks down at it before looking back at Reid. "Okay," he nods, accepting that response. "So, you've been here for almost four months."

"Astute observation."

"And," he continues. He's never actually stopped talking when Reid interrupts him. "I was wondering what you think of Oakdale."

Reid looks at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, what do you think of it? Do you have any favorite hang out spots? I don't see you at any of my hang out spots and I've been back for a little while now. What do you do for fun?"

"Uh," and this is the part that Reid hates when it comes to small talk.

"And I already know you like to watch baseball. You also like to eat. You like to eat a lot. You seem really rude and uncaring to innocent bystanders but I'd like to think that I know you well enough to know that that's absolutely untrue ..."

"See? And you said that you didn't know me," Reid smiles, taking a sip from his mug. "I'd say that you're more than informed."

"That's all there is to you?"

Reid considers that for a moment and looks away before he lifts his eyes to meet Luke's. "That's more than most people know."

Luke seems to understand this. He understands that Reid doesn't really open up to many people. He understands that Reid's often cold and aloof when it comes to relating to other people and yet with Luke, he's been honest from the start. Maybe he hasn't always been warm and fuzzy to him but he's certainly been more open to him than he's been with anyone else.

"Oh," Luke nods, a small smile on his face as he looks down at his mug. "That's ... that's actually pretty flattering."

Luke can suck his cock in his office but this makes him blush.

"Yeah, well ..." Reid doesn't know what to say and he's further stunned into silence when Luke's hand casually slips into his. They both look down at their clasped hands, fingers exploring each other's skin. Reid's thumb moves slowly over his palm while Luke's fingers flex against Reid's.

"Luke! Hey, man," Reid hears the greeting but his eyes are still on their hands as they both pull them back so that they rest against the table. It's a slow separation of palms and Reid can still feel the warmth of Luke's hand in his.

"Hey, Casey," Luke smiles up at his friend and Reid turns his head, eyes squinting a little to place him.

"Dr. Oliver," Casey says with surprise in his voice. "What are you guys doing here?"

"You knocked over my pencil cup," Reid remembers now. He'll never forget Casey, the janitor, coming in to clean up while he was still in his office. Reid's eyes were on him the whole time. He just had a bad feeling about his presence and he'd been right. It started with the pencil cup. The pencils and pens went flying to the floor. After Casey picked them up, he tripped over the chair and hit his head on the corner of Reid's desk. He gave him a quick exam right there. He's barely seen him since.

"Uh, I ..." he seems a little nervous, rubbing the back of his neck, and nodding. "Yep, you remember."

"Can't forget a bonehead move like that," Reid says before sipping his coffee.

"Bonehead move," Luke repeats. "Yeah, that sounds like him," he laughs and Casey crosses his arms.

"Ha ha," he rolls his eyes and grabs a free chair, dragging it over to their table. "So, what's going on? Doctor conference at Java?"

"Not exactly," Luke tells him before glancing back at Reid. Reid can sense that this is the kind of guy who can't really take the hint. He has to grab the hint and be beaten over the head with it. "We're kind of ... um."

"We're on a date," Reid finishes for him.

"Oh ... oh!" Casey immediately jumps up and moves the chair back to where he found it. "So sorry. I didn't know. I thought you guys were ... anyway. I'm just waiting for Ali. I'll ... I'll wait somewhere else. See ya," he leaves just as fast as he arrived, heading out the door.

Luke laughs when he leaves and shakes his head. "I've known Casey since high school. We were in college together for a little while but he dropped out and ... we've just been reconnecting since I got back in town."

Reid can imagine the both of them, young, in high school, probably getting into trouble together. "Why Oakdale?"

"Huh?"

"You could've ended up anywhere. Why'd you come back to Oakdale? If I grew up here, I'd probably get the hell out and never come back."

Reid hasn't been here long but the amount of drama in this town is an amount he never thought possible in the real world. He's taken care of gunshot wounds, amnesia patients, and in three months has had to deal with the brother's wife who's sleeping with the other brother. He's had to deal with the two cousins (first cousins) whose budding romance was put to a halt because she rolled down a hill and hit her head on a rock. There have been countless of stories that he's heard that he doesn't even try to understand.

"I did that," Luke chuckles. "I left as soon as I was done with college and I don't know. I mean, no place has ever felt like home. My parents are here, my grandmothers, my brother, my sisters. I'd miss them too much I lived anywhere else."

Reid doesn't understand that. As an only child, he's only ever had to look out for himself and his parents never factored into his plans. He's always done what he's wanted to do.

"You've never stayed anywhere for someone you love?" Luke wonders.

Reid can answer without hesitation, "No."

"Consider yourself lucky," Luke finishes his coffee and pushes his mug away. Luke looks at him then, really looking at him. There's a sad expression that crosses his face and he heaves a heavy sigh. "I ... I don't know why you ..." he shakes his head and stands up. "I can't do this, Reid."

Reid's eyes follow him until he's out the door. He doesn't know how to react to that quick decision but he knows he has to follow him. Grabbing his jacket, he quickly heads to the door, and runs out to find him. Luke's quickly walking away to his car and Reid catches up with him. "Whoa, hold on a minute." Luke stops but he doesn't turn to look at him. "What was that about? You can't just say that and run away."

Luke turns to face him, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I'm sorry but I can't. I didn't ... I didn't come back here for ..." he sighs and leans against the side of the building. "I came back because I thought that I was safe here. I thought that the gay men who live here already know my history and would know to stay away from me. I didn't think I'd meet anyone here. First day at the hospital and I didn't know that I'd meet you."

"I'm not following you, Luke."

"I'm damaged goods, Reid. I'm not good in a relationship. And I thought ... I thought that we could just get together and get what we need and what we want from each other but you ..." he looks down and shakes his head again.

Reid steps forward then and reaches forward, his hand coming up to cup the side of Luke's face, slowly moving his thumb gently against his cheek. Luke lifts his head to look at Reid and Reid notices the tears forming in his eyes. His heart clenches when he sees it, wanting nothing more than to take whatever this is away from him. Leaning in, he presses his lips against Luke's and at first, he doesn't react very much. But, then he feels Luke's lips moving, his hand coming up to rest against Reid's arm.

They stand there, in the middle of Old Town, people walking through to get from here to there, and Luke and Reid couldn't care less.

\---

They don't talk about it on the way back to Luke's place. Reid's driving him home after their kiss. He doesn't expect anything from him. He doesn't ask anything of him. He wants Luke to feel safe with him.

This is when Reid finds out that Luke's living with his mother.

"I still haven't found a place. Don't know if I want to live in an apartment or get a house out here," Luke tells him after saying that he lives at his mom's place.

"Must be annoying to come home to younger siblings after a long day at work."

"It's been okay. Besides, they're usually ready for bed by the time that I come home. There isn't enough time for them to annoy me. Don't get me wrong, they still find their ways, but it's fun to help them with homework and play with them. My brother Ethan's still young enough that he wants to hang out with me. My sisters think that they've outgrown me but when my sister Natalie needs a ride somewhere, then she remembers that she needs me after all," he chuckles and Reid smiles just because Luke is finally smiling again. "My sister Faith's just moved home again. She was living with her boyfriend but it didn't work out."

"Younger sister?"

"Yeah, too young for all of that. She's always had a really tough time. I wasn't there for her that much when she was growing up. I was already in college and working. But, I'm trying to be there for her now."

Luke takes on a lot. Not only does he help his family but he voluntarily helps at the hospital as well as doing his own job. Who's there to take care of him?

Reid pulls into the driveway and parks there. Luke turns to look at him and Reid looks back. "You can come in, if you want, and have a drink."

"I'm all right," Reid turns to open his door, getting out of the car. Luke follows suit and they both walk to the door together.

"Did you just walk me to my door?" Luke asks, crossing his arms in front of him.

Reid realizes that it's true and laughs, shrugging. "I guess I did. Next time you can walk me to mine."

"Next time?"

"Next time," Reid nods, confirming for him that he wants to see him again.

"Okay," Luke smiles at him and Reid finds himself, not for the first time, smiling right back at him. Luke's the one who leans forward and Reid meets him halfway, both of them sharing a goodnight kiss. "Goodnight," he says quietly when he pulls away from him.

"Night," Reid responds and turns to leave. He hears Luke opening the door behind him when he walks toward his car. As he gets into the driver's seat, he finds Luke still looking at him. He gives him another smile and then he walks inside.

As soon as he's back inside, Reid's head tilts back against the headrest. That smile always manages to completely unravel him and this time is no exception.


	6. Chapter 6

It's been two days since their date and no word from Luke since then. Reid quickly reviews the date in his head and decides that everything had gone as well as it could for a first date. It's been a long time since he's had a first date but his date with Luke had gone better than previous first dates.

As Reid considers this, he runs into Luke at the coffee machine and Luke smiles widely when he sees him. That's a good sign. "Hey, I was gonna stop by your office this afternoon. It's been crazy these past couple of days. Kids are getting sick left and right just before Thanksgiving."

"So, their parents think that you can magically heal them so that they can all stuff themselves with turkey or take that vacation that they had planned a year in advance?" Reid guesses, reaching for the pot of coffee and filling his mug.

"Yeah, exactly. When I recommend bed rest and a prescription or two, they seem surprised that I can't do more."

"I know how that goes," Reid's been a witness to more than one patient who think the cure to a brain tumor is their grandmother's chicken soup and a bedtime story. Reid only wishes that it were that simple.

Reid takes the pot and fills Luke's mug too.

"Thanks," Luke smiles at him, both of them briefly making eye contact before looking down at their mugs. "Actually, I have a minute. Can I stop by?"

Reid nods and they fix their coffee before Luke walks side-by-side with Reid back to his office.

Jaymie greets Luke when she sees him, "Dr. Snyder."

"Hi, Jaymie," he smiles at her and then follows Reid inside.

Luke's the one who closes the door behind him before he takes a seat in the chair across from Reid's desk. He slowly sips his coffee and then places the mug on Reid's desk before Reid takes his seat in his chair.

"Wanna help out with the Thanksgiving here at the hospital?" Luke asks.

"I think that you know my answer to that," Reid sips his coffee and closes a folder that's open on his desk.

"You helped during Halloween."

"You tricked me."

Luke laughs, "Right. I used my powers of persuasion to coerce you into doing something you absolutely didn't want to do."

Reid thinks that that is exactly what happened.

"Okay, you don't have to help at the dinner. Just come in with me this weekend and help me hang up decorations."

"How is that any better than helping with the dinner?"

"At the dinner, I'll make you do things. Helping with the decorations is more like ... cut me a piece of tape, please." Luke reaches for his mug again and takes another small sip. "I was ... I've also been ... I really do wanna move out of my mom's place. So, I'm thinking I need to get an apartment." Reid wonders where he's going with this. "I have an appointment to see one on Saturday and thought we could go get something to eat and then go check it out."

"And then here to decorate," Reid completes the unspoken thought that lingers at the end of Luke's sentence.

"Well, I thought that I could lure you with the food first and that'll lull you into a feeling of comfort and contentment and then you'll just do whatever it is I want you to do." Luke folds his hands in front of him, holding back a smile.

"Ah, so you had a master plan," Reid squints, bringing his fingers to his chin and stroking his skin in a fashion that reminiscent to old James Bond movies. The move makes Luke laugh and that's Reid's intent.

"Well, I want you to come help me. That's true. But, I also want to go out with you again. If you want," he quickly adds. "You don't have to --"

"Luke," Reid says his name to prevent him from back tracking more than he already has. "Count me in."

"Really?" he wonders in a way that seems so vulnerable, almost child-like.

Reid nods, "Yeah but you're paying for dinner."

Luke laughs and seems agreeable to that. "All right, it's a deal." Glancing at his watch, he takes in a deep breath, and sighs. "I have to get back. I have appointments all afternoon." Standing and taking his mug, Reid thinks he's just going to say goodbye and walk out the door. Instead, he walks around Reid's desk and bends down to press his lips to Reid's.

It's been two days since Reid's felt this and he wants to take advantage of it. His hand comes up, fingertips pressing against Luke's cheek, and holding him there for a moment. Luke's the one who pulls away first and straightens up.

"See you soon," Luke tells him and Reid's eyes follow him all the way to the door. He leaves the door open and he watches him until he turns, walking out of his sight.

Reid shakes his head to try to snap out of it.

He's still able to taste Luke when he licks his lips and he sighs to himself, wondering when exactly he became that guy who has those kind of thoughts. Running his fingers through his hair, he opens the folder in front of him to look through some paperwork. He will concentrate on this. Even when he has that thought, thoughts of Luke continue to flicker through his mind.

\---

Luke's true to his word and stops by Reid's office regularly and even has lunch with him a couple of times.

Saturday comes sooner than expected. They both decide to get an early meal since Luke's appointment is in the late afternoon. Reid takes Luke to Al's and Luke runs into everyone he knows. Reid ignores them as several people briefly chat with Luke while he stuffs his face with the food he's ordered.

"You could be a little more polite," Luke tells him before he starts eating.

"If I sat here and entertained every one of those people like you did, I'd starve to death." Reid's just finishing up what's on his plate while Luke's just getting started. Now, Reid works on finishing his coleslaw.

"Yeah, you probably would," Luke concedes his point and takes a bite of his sandwich. "Do you have any friends?" he has to ask.

"Acquaintances that I can tolerate for longer than 20 minutes, yes. Mostly colleagues."

"You don't sit around and discuss the latest medical journal articles, do you?"

"From time to time, we do. Most of us have written those articles. I see no reason why we shouldn't ..."

"You guys sit around and basically pump up each other's egos or criticize each other about your own articles?"

"Something like that."

"Wow," Luke mouths and takes a sip of his soda. "You need to get out more."

"What do you call what we're doing here?"

"Being outside. You need some hobbies."

Reid contemplates telling him, pausing for a moment until he finally says it. "I play chess."

"You do? I play too! Are you any good?"

Reid shrugs, "I'm all right."

"We should play sometime. I think that there's actually a board in the doctor's lounge."

Reid doesn't bother to ask why there are games inside the doctor's lounge. He's sure there's some asinine reason behind it.

Luke talks while they finish lunch. Reid finds out that Luke plays basketball and he's pretty good at it. He would've joined some sports teams in high school but he was still too much of a mess to be joining any sports teams. Luke doesn't elaborate on the mess and Reid doesn't ask. Not yet anyway. By the time he's finished talking, they're both done with their food.

Reid is the one who picked up Luke from his mom's house so they drive together to the apartment. Luke directs him and it's not too far away from the center of town. It's in an industrial looking building and they both look up at it when they get out of the car.

"This it?" Reid wonders, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Luke nods and heads toward the front door. There's a code to get in and when they reach the door to the apartment, there's a lock box on it with another code that Luke types in.

They walk inside and looks can certainly be deceiving. The interior is pretty warm and inviting compared to the cold looking exterior.

Reid can easily see Luke making a home in this kind of place. It suits him.

"What do you think?" Luke asks as he walks through the kitchen, testing all the fixtures, and making sure that he has all the appliances he needs.

"It's great. Modern," Reid notices the stainless steel fridge, stove that has a gas range with five burners, and deep sink.

"Yeah, it is. I kinda love it in here," Luke nods as he walks straight into the living room. There's even a fireplace and a perfect spot for a high definition television right above it.

Reid runs his fingers through his hair, remembering that it's Luke's space, and he can decorate it any way that he wants. But, watching a baseball game in widescreen above that fireplace would be pretty amazing.

Luke walks into the next room and finds the empty room that's supposed to be the bedroom.

"My bed would fit perfectly in here," Luke walks in and Reid follows. He walks toward the window, observing the view down to the street. They're a flight up so there's a little bit of a view here.

They hear the door open and a woman calls out for Luke.

"We're in here!" he shouts to her, walking toward the bedroom door so she can see him. "Hi, Lisa. Reid, this is my real estate agent. Lisa Lavell, this is Dr. Reid Oliver. Lisa's come to bring the application."

Reid walks toward the two and shakes her hand.

"Nice to meet you. So, what do you two think of the space?"

"Oh, I'm ---"

"We love it," Luke interrupts, looking over at him.

"It's a perfect one-bedroom for a couple and right in town close to all the shops and restaurants," she lists, leading them back toward the kitchen.

Reid raises both eyebrows at Luke and Luke smiles back at him, arms crossing over his body smugly. Luke wants to have a little fun and Reid almost wants to let him. He'll have to see how this goes.

"We really like it," Luke speaks when they reach the kitchen.

"You both will be really happy here. It's available at the beginning of next month and you both just need to fill out this application," she hands them two applications. "Just a quick credit check and you'll need a deposit and that's about it."

"Great, we'll drop these off when it's all filled out," he tells her and she smiles back at the both of them.

"Fantastic. I'm sure everything will check out and soon, you'll be all settled in. Well, I need to be going but just shut the door behind you and the lock should click into place, please. Two doctors in a relationship," she mentions as she starts to walk out the door. "I'm sure you guys will have no problem with the application. I'll see you both soon. It was nice to have met you," she tells Reid before closing the door behind her.

Reid's eyes follow her until the door shuts and then he shakes his head as he looks down at the application. "How disappointed she'll be when she finds out there's only one doctor moving in."

Luke nods and shrugs his shoulders. "She'll get over it. It's ..." He chuckles and carefully folds the application.

"It's what?" Reid wonders as he takes a step toward him. Luke looks at him, a small smile on his face before he ducks his head, not wanting to meet Reid's gaze. "It's what, Luke?"

"It's not like ... she'll never see you over here," he lifts his head to look at Reid and Reid sees a little fear in his eyes, questioning him, silently asking him if he's right.

"Right," Reid finds himself smiling widely before he curbs it into a smirk. "Yeah, you're right. She'll see me." That's what Luke wants to hear. He gives him a smile and Reid can't resist leaning in and kissing him right there in the empty living room, next to the kitchen.

They stand there kissing, arms locked around each other, and Luke's the one who pulls free to remind him that they have to head to the hospital. Before he pulls away, Reid moves his fingers through Luke's hair, and Luke gives him one more kiss before they part.

Reid takes one more look around the apartment and he really does think that he likes this place.

\---

The hospital doesn't shut down on the weekends. But neither one of them are scheduled to work and it's later than Luke anticipates. It's dark by the time they arrive.

Ever since the apartment visit, they can't stop touching each other. In the car, Luke finds a way to touch Reid's shoulder, his arm, and his hand. Reid finds himself doing the same thing once they're in the hospital. They walk close together on the way to Luke's office to get the supplies, occasionally nudging shoulders when they walk.

The lights in the hallway are dimmed but the lights are still on in individual rooms and the nurse's stations. Luke greets every nurse by name when they pass and Reid can only walk by, briefly acknowledging that he recognizes some faces but not all.

Luke unlocks the door to his office and grabs the decorations that he plans on putting up. He'll be decorating the main entryway that leads to the cafeteria. Everyone who's volunteered has been assigned specific spaces in the hospital to decorate as they see fit. Some doctors have taken this to mean that they're absolutely allowed to decorate as if their five-year-old vomited cliche party favors all over the walls.

"You should've had regulations or restrictions on that," Reid tells him as he helps to unwrap the large 'Happy Thanksgiving' banner that Luke's purchased.

"Maybe but where's the fun in that? Just because we're all medical professionals means that we can't have child-like tendencies?"

"I don't," Reid passes him the unwrapped banner.

"All right, well, consider yourself excluded and because you're not participating, you don't get an opinion." Luke takes the small ladder he's borrowed from the janitor's closet, adjusting it, and putting it in place.

"Uh, what do you think I'm doing right now?"

"You're right, you're not doing anything. That'll change in a second." Luke takes the roll of tape and hands it to Reid. "Hold on to this and can you put your foot on the ladder while I'm up there? It doesn't feel steady."

Reid sighs as if this is the most arduous task anyone's asked him to do but he follows.

Luke takes the first part of the banner since it's in sections and begins to climb the ladder. The ladder immediately wobbles a little under Luke's weight but it seems to be steady enough.

The first part of the banner goes up and Luke turns a little to look at him. "How's that look?"

Luke's ass has been in his view for the past few minutes and as if that isn't enough of a distraction, Luke's shirt has been lifting a little every time he's reached forward to tape the banner to the wall, and it gives him a perfect view of a small patch of skin on his side and lower back.

"I'd say that the view's pretty great from down here," Reid gives him a predatory grin and Luke chuckles. Reid swears that he's able to see a flush of red begin to form on Luke's neck. It's hard to tell underneath the dim lights.

"I meant the banner," Luke motions toward it and Reid nods.

"Looks fine."

"Great, on to the next."

Luke steps down from the ladder and moves it over into the next position. Again, Reid is behind him to make sure that the ladder is steady and to hand him pieces of tape when he asks for it.

One second, Luke's steady on the step, and the next, the ladder wobbles underneath him and he loses his balance. Reid drops the tape, quickly placing his hands on Luke's waist to help steady him. It's too late for that and Luke quickly spins as Reid catches him, holding on to him tightly before he falls flat on his face.

Luke's hands are on Reid's shoulders to regain his balance.

They both look at each other, bodies close together, and breathing heavily. Their hearts are racing from the minor scare and Reid speaks first, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Luke chuckles. "That was clumsy."

Reid says nothing, continuing to look at Luke. Their bodies are pressed close together and whether it's a conscious move or not, Luke licks his lips. Reid eyes are looking into Luke's before Luke's gaze flickers back to Reid's lips.

They move toward one another at the same time.

They kiss and it's rushed and frenzied. Their hands are in each other's hair and then shoulders, necks, and backs. They're pulling each other closer, unable to get enough. They're kissing as if their lives depend on it, only briefly parting to take in quick breaths before kissing again.

Reid pushes Luke back against a wall and Luke moans once he hits it. Luke's arms circle around Reid's neck, holding him close while Reid's hands are against Luke's waist. Reid's hands begin to move underneath Luke's shirt, now able to touch the bare skin he'd admired earlier.

Then the lights turn on, blinding, and surprising them both.

They both pull apart and look at the person standing next to the light switch.

"Hello, boys," Chris greets them, a large smile on his face.

"Doogie," Reid says in return, still panting, and crossing his arms in front of his body.

Luke straightens up as much as he can, pulling down his shirt, and sighing, "Everything okay?"

"I had rounds tonight and heard something suspicious over here. Thought that some of the older kids had wandered off for a little private time," Chris crosses his arms over his chest and smiles at the both of them, looking way too pleased with himself.

"And now you know that there aren't any renegade patients so why don't you leave and mind your own business?"

Chris holds his hands up in surrender and begins to slowly back out of the room. "Want me to turn the lights back off?"

Reid just glares at him and Chris chuckles when he turns around to leave.

Luke tilts his head back against the wall and sighs again. Reid turns around to face him and they look at each other, smiles slowly forming.

"Guess the cat's outta the bag," Luke stands up straight and runs his fingers through his hair.

"I think it was just yanked out."

Luke laughs and pushes himself off the wall. "Do you mind that people know?"

"We're not a secret, Luke."

"No, I know. But, now that people will hear about us, you might hear some things about me," Luke shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders, and it seems like he doesn't want to finish that train of thought.

"Well, then why don't you just tell me?"

"Do you wanna know?"

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't."

Luke looks back at the banner, the other piece on the floor, along with a few other items that have dropped. "All right, not here though. Let's clean this up first."

\---

They clean the area, returning all the items to Luke's office, and Reid drives them straight to his apartment. They've both been silent and Luke doesn't vocalize any objections to where they go.

Reid leads the way to the front door and turns on the lights.

Luke looks around the living room, able to eye the small dining room that leads straight into the kitchen. Reid doesn't need a big place. The only thing he does here is eat and sleep.

"Want some water or soda or something?" Reid offers.

"Water, thanks."

Reid leaves him to go to the fridge, grabbing two bottles of water, and walks back to Luke to hand him his.

"Thanks," he opens it and takes a long sip. Removing his coat, he holds on to it as he walks to the couch, and takes a seat.

Reid follows, taking a seat next to him. Reid's noticed that Luke has held back with him. He can talk for hours about his Grandmother's business, his dad's stable, his mom's company but he really hasn't heard much about Luke beyond his hobbies and interests. Reid knows that Luke is determined and headstrong and can look at anyone with a puppy dog expression and those people will melt. But, beyond all of that, he doesn't know much else. They haven't really known each other for that long but since he's known him, Luke's been holding back the bits he wants to keep unknown.

"After this, if you don't want to see me anymore, I completely understand. I just don't want you to hear about these things from anyone else. I'd rather you hear them from me."

"Okay," Reid nods, all of this incredibly melodramatic and he's sure that anything Luke says will be an exaggeration of events.

"I'm an alcoholic and that's partly why I had the kidney transplant. I started drinking during a time where my parents were completely unstable and separately dating other people and all the back and forth was driving me crazy. The drinking helped numb everything but I ended up getting an infection and had to get a kidney transplant. My mom was dating a guy that found me a kidney but said in exchange my mom had to marry him. I got the kidney," he pauses then, losing himself in the memories. Reid notices his eyes stare off, unsure whether or not to continue.

"You don't have to do this, Luke. You don't have to tell me everything in one shot."

"I kinda do. I, I haven't been involved with anyone in a while. I don't ... I don't know why you want to be with me at all. If you knew these things, maybe you'd have an informed opinion, and you can decide then."

"Luke," Reid turns his body toward Luke's and makes sure to look him in the eyes. "I don't care if your cousin's half-brother's son's nanny once robbed a liquor store and used the money to go on a shopping spree in Paris." Luke chuckles quietly and moves so that his elbows are on his knees, folding his hands together. "It doesn't change how I feel about you."

"Really? But you don't know --"

"Whatever I don't know, I'll learn as we go along. Some really unbelievably crappy things have happened to you but I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me those things now so that I can decide whether or not I like you. I already know that I like you."

Luke sits up straight then and brings his hand up, moving his fingers through Reid's hair. "Thank you," he whispers.

Reid gives him a small smile, leaning into Luke's touch.

They look at one another and Luke closes the distance between them, pressing his lips gently to Reid's. His fingers slide down the side of Reid's face, resting against his jaw. It starts with the gentle press of lips but they're soon both seeking more.

Their kisses become heated, starting right where they left off before they had been interrupted.

Reid helps to pull him up and leads him into his bedroom.

Luke starts to unbutton Reid's shirt, taking it off quickly, and pushing it off his shoulders. Reid reaches down and pulls Luke's shirt up over his head. They continue to kiss, Reid moving Luke back toward the bed, tumbling down on top of it once they reach it.

Luke moves to the center of the bed and Reid follows, moving on top of him.

Luke works to remove Reid's pants, fingers trembling as he helps to remove his belt, and then pushing down his pants and underwear as far as he can.

Reid pulls back to take off his clothes and removes Luke's pants, pulling them down to his ankles, and taking them off the rest of the way. Before he does anything else, he pauses, able to see and admire Luke's body. The only light in the room comes from the window and thankfully highlights all the right parts of him.

He starts at Luke's thigh and kisses his way up Luke's body. Luke's moaning and sighing until Reid reaches his lips. They share a hard kiss, Luke's fingers pulling the short strands of Reid's hair, and Reid's hand reaching down to stroke Luke's hard cock.

Reid moves and kisses his way back down, briefly stopping to lick and bite Luke's nipples, kiss his stomach, and reaches Luke's cock. He licks the head of his cock, circling once around it before taking it into his mouth. This is something that he's thought about doing again for a long time. Well, since the first time. Luke's cock is full and thick, heavy on his tongue. But, he loves the way it feels and the way that it tastes.

His hand wraps around the base of Luke's cock, stroking the areas that he can't reach with his mouth as he takes him down inch by inch. Relaxing his throat, he manages to swallow around him for a moment before pulling up for a breath. His lips are tight around him, bobbing his head up and down.

Luke's a goner. He's moaning loudly, his fingers tight in Reid's hair, grabbing on to as much of it as he can. Soon, he begins to thrust his hips forward, his cock sliding in and out of Reid's mouth.

"Reid!" Luke cries out, his other hand grabbing the sheets, twisting them in his hand. Without a warning, he begins to come, shooting into Reid's mouth, and Reid takes down every drop.

Once Luke's calmed down, Reid moves on top of him again, and presses his lips to Luke's, sharing his taste with him. Luke sucks on Reid's tongue, still eager, still turned on.

"I want you, Reid. I've been wanting this," Luke tells him, both of them pulling away to look at the other. Luke leans up and kisses him.

"Me too," Reid says and kisses him again.

"Just ... take it easy. It's been a little while."

Reid's cock practically twitches when he hears that. He leans in to give him a reassuring kiss and reaches into the drawer of his nightstand. He takes out a condom and lube.

He coats two fingers with lube and asks Luke to spread his legs. Then, his fingers find Luke's hole, slowly circling before easing one in slowly.

Reid keeps his eyes on Luke, gauging his reaction and the reaction of his body to the intrusion. Luke tenses up at first but as Reid works a finger inside, he begins to loosen up. When he leans down to kiss him, he adds a second finger, and Luke moans against his lips.

He's working his fingers in and out of him, preparing him for his cock.

Luke cries out when Reid's fingers hit that spot inside of him. He gasps for air and reaches for Reid again. "Please, I want you."

Reid's fingers pull out and he opens the condom wrapper.

"Let me," Luke tells him, reaching for the condom. He pushes Reid back on his ankles, sitting up, and Luke moves forward on his knees. Taking the condom in his mouth, he suctions it between his lips, and lowers his head. Reid watches as Luke rolls the condom down on his cock with his mouth, swallowing him down deeply on that first pass, and rolling down the rest with his tongue.

When he pulls off, he makes sure that it's secure, and on properly. Reid can only stare, open mouthed at what he's just witnessed. Luke chuckles when he sees his expression. He kisses him before he moves on his back once again.

"That was hot," Reid tells him, using a little more lube on his cock, and moving on top of Luke. "You have such a talented mouth," he smirks and leans down for another kiss as he positions his cock against Luke's hole.

He pushes in before Luke has a chance to respond.

They both moan at the intrusion, Reid's cock feeling the pressure of Luke around him. He eases himself in, careful with him, and moving slowly. But, Luke's body seems to adjust to him well and begins to take him in even deeper.

Luke's arms and legs wrap around Reid, holding him close as he moves. His heels press against Reid's ass, moving him in even deeper than before.

They move together, Reid moving faster and harder, and Luke grabbing on to his hair and back, moaning for more. Reid can feel that his cock is rock hard once again on his stomach. Luke leans forward, licking, biting, and sucking on Reid's neck when he's close to him. Reid pulls away to look at him and then kiss him again before he really starts to give it to him.

With the force of his thrusts, his headboard hits the wall several times, the mattress moving forward as they shift back and forth on it.

Luke cries out, gasping for breath, and Reid's grateful for that reaction, unsure of how long he'll last at this pace. Luke is so beautiful when he's in the throes of passion, extremely hot as his body takes him in over and over again. Reid's hips snap, thrusting deeper inside of Luke, and that's the end of it for him.

Luke's hole closes in tightly around Reid's cock, moaning as he comes on Reid's stomach and his own. Reid stops thrusting when he begins to come, filling the condom that's deep inside of Luke.

When it's over, he collapses on top of him, still experiencing the feeling of pleasure moving straight through him. But, he lifts his head to watch Luke whose eyes are still closed. Luke licks his lips and slowly opens his eyes to look at Reid. They both smile at each other before they share a kiss.

"That was pretty amazing, Dr. Oliver," Luke smiles against his lips.

"You're not so bad yourself, Dr. Snyder."

Reid thinks that saying "yes" to helping Luke with the hospital Thanksgiving decorations is one of the best decisions he's ever made.


	7. Chapter 7

"And reschedule Mr. Montgomery. I have surgery that day," Reid dictates to Jaymie.

"Oh and you have another package."

"What?"

She leaves his office and comes back with another wrapped package. It's the same shape as the other one and Reid can't help but smile when he sees it. "I'll leave you to it," she tells him and closes his office door behind her.

Reid sighs and unwraps the package. This tin has a picture of a pumpkin on it. He opens it and finds mini-pumpkin pies inside. On top of the pies is a note that reads:

_Grandma Emma's pumpkin pies. Just a sample. You haven't said yes yet._

_Luke_

Reid picks up his phone and dials Luke's extension.

"Dr. Snyder's office," his secretary answers.

"This is Dr. Oliver, is he there?"

"Just a moment, Dr. Oliver," she tells him, putting him on hold for a moment while she gets Luke.

"Dr. Oliver," he hears Luke's voice.

"Pumpkin pies, huh?" he asks as he picks one up and takes a bite from it.

"She makes three different kinds. There's pumpkin, apple, and cherry, and if you like something else, she takes requests." Reid mumbles and Luke laughs, "What?"

"I said," he swallows. "This Grandma seems too perfect to be true. Are you sure you're not just making her up and buying these from the store?"

"Reid, you are in for it."

"Ooh, I'm shaking in my shoes." He can hear Luke's smiles on the other end. "Are we still on for tonight?"

"Right after rounds. I'll see you then."

"See you," Reid smiles after he hangs up the phone and pops another mini-pie into his mouth.

Unfortunately, they never get to the date after rounds. He's called into surgery last minute and it lasts several hours. He makes sure to leave a message for Luke before he's scrubbed in and he's lost in the joy of surgery for several hours. There's a moment when he thinks it's about to take a turn for the worse but they manage to catch the bleed before it does any real damage.

With yet another successful surgery under his belt, he feels like he deserves a celebratory drink. Just one to relax him at the end of this long day. He goes to Yo's and prays that it's still open so he can get one drink before he goes home.

He feels relief when the door opens as he pushes it and he heads straight to the bar.

Taking a seat on the stool, he orders a beer, and he hears laughter coming from a nearby table. The laughter's very, very familiar to him. Turning his head, he sees Luke there with a man that he appears to be having a good time with. He doesn't want to jump to conclusions. He doesn't want to be the guy who smiles when he's around the guy he likes and gets jealous when he sees that guy with another attractive guy.

But he knows that he already is that guy so there's no need to try and fight it.

He watches them for another minute, seeing them laugh, seeing their bodies close together, shoulders touching, and the other man takes it up another step and wraps his arm around Luke's shoulder. Luke doesn't seem to mind.

Reid's upset that Luke isn't the man that he thought he was. He's disappointed that he's been played so easily when he's done everything he can to be on his guard and keep his defenses up.

In this case, his walls came tumbling down whenever Luke had been around. It's his own fault.

It makes him angry to think that Luke's been just as cautious, asking him if he's ready for people to know, and now people can see him out in the open with this other man.

Reid breaks his gaze, throws a bill on the bar, and leaves to go home.

All he can see are images of Luke and that man, laughing, smiling, and touching.

He remembers touching Luke, marking him, and fucking him.

As soon as he's at home and in bed, he tries to erase those memories and decides to start from scratch in the morning. He'll forget about this and he'll forget about Luke.

\---

The following day, Reid makes sure to stay busy, and never visit his office for more than a few minutes at a time. He doesn't want to get stuck in there and Luke's going to have a chance to corner him. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't need to be in his office for Luke to find him.

"Reid!" Luke calls his name and Reid turns, seeing the same man at the bar standing beside Luke. "Hey, hold on a second. I haven't been able to catch you all day."

Reid says nothing and just nods, "Been busy."

"Yeah, do you have a minute? I just want you to meet someone."

Now Luke's going to be introducing to the new guy he's fucking? It makes little sense to him and it leaves him feeling very confused. "Sure," he forms the statement into a question, curious.

"This is my brother, Aaron. He's in town for Thanksgiving."

Brother.

Reid feels like a complete and total moron. For someone who scored a perfect score on the SATs and his MCATs, he's an idiot. He feels relief and he feels like he owes Luke a huge apology even though he knows nothing about what he's gone through in the past twenty-four hours.

"Aaron, this is my boyfriend, Dr. Reid Oliver."

"Boyfriend?" Aaron exclaims, a large smile on his face. "You've been keeping this from me the whole time?"

"Wanted to see how you'd react," he tells him with a laugh. "And you," Luke says as he looks at Reid.

"Uh, I'm fine," Reid gives him a small smile and shakes Aaron's hand. "Luke, a word," he motions for him to follow him.

"Yeah?" Luke asks once Aaron's not within an earshot.

"Um," Reid rubs the back of his neck and glances down before looking at Luke. "So, I never said anything about Thanksgiving yet."

"Yes?" Luke smiles widely and Reid tries not to stare directly at it.

"And I've decided that it's probably worth enduring the pains of a social occasion with strangers if I get fed so I'll go."

"You'll go?"

"Don't make me say it twice."

"Well, Dr. Oliver," Luke says, taking a step closer to him. "I will pick you up on Thursday at three."

"Three? In the afternoon?"

"We start early and it's right after the hospital Thanksgiving lunch," he leans in for a brief but sweet kiss, his lips lingering against Reid's for an extra half a second.

"Three it is, Dr. Snyder," he speaks when Luke pulls away.

"All right. I'm off today to take Aaron around but I'll see you."

Reid nods and Luke reaches over to squeeze his arm before he goes.

"See you at Thanksgiving!" Aaron makes sure to say before Luke pulls his arm, the both of them heading in the opposite direction.

Reid's mentally kicking himself because of how insecure he'd felt and how much he'd doubted not only his own feelings but Luke's too. Not only did he doubt him but he didn't trust him. It's a big realization to have, realizing that he has those strong feelings toward Luke, that he feels like he's hurt him in some way even though he had no idea what his thoughts had been last night.

These feelings are completely unfamiliar to him. It's making him feel unsure and he can't even remember the last time that he's felt insecure. It must've been back in high school or a brief flicker of a moment in college.

He's sure about brain surgery. He's sure about being a damn good doctor. He's sure that he'll always have something good to eat on a daily basis.

But, Luke Snyder makes him feel unsure, not sure about himself or his feelings.

He unbuttons the top button of his shirt, feeling panic settle upon him. He takes a couple of deep breaths and realizes that he hasn't moved from his spot for a few minutes.

He decides to stop thinking about this and goes back to work.

\---

It's the day before Thanksgiving Luke invites him to dinner via text message.

Reid responds, "Aren't we having a massive meal at your family's place tomorrow? I should be saving room."

His phone makes a sound and he chuckles when he sees Luke's text, _"Reid Oliver turning down food? I hear the four horsemen coming."_

"I didn't say no."

_"I should've thrown in a euphemism about dessert and sex."_

"There's dessert?"

_"And sex."_

"Two of my favorite combos."

_"I'll be over at 8. Cook you something."_

That's when the texting wars stop and Reid looks at the last message. Luke can cook? Well, he'll find out later tonight. He has a couple of consults and his rounds to complete but he's out of the hospital by 7:30. By the time he reaches his place, Luke's already at the front door but still in his scrubs and holding a bag from the grocery store.

"Hey," he greets him when he reaches the door, leaning in for a kiss.

Reid returns it and opens his front door to let them both inside. "You just finish up?"

"Yeah, went to the store straight after the last appointment. Poor kid has a bad case of bronchitis."

"Hacking up a lung, huh?" Reid asks as he takes off his jacket. Luke's already in the kitchen, putting the bag down on the counter.

"Yeah, for a few days now. What about you? Anything coming up?"

"Um, surgery on Tuesday," he says as he glances at his phone. It's off and he never turns it off. He turns it back on and walks toward the kitchen. "Need to change," he tells Luke, glancing down at his own scrubs.

"Sure, take your time," he smiles at him before he begins to busy himself.

Reid does just that and changes into a pair of comfortable jeans and a t-shirt. He shaves, making sure that he looks like a better, refreshed version of himself.

He goes to rest in the living room, putting on some music, and taking a seat to go through a few medical journals that he hasn't read yet.

Occasionally, he hears the clang of a pot and cupboards closing but Luke's mostly silent. When he isn't cooking, he's sitting at the table, and reading his own set of medical journals that he's brought with him.

Reid turns back to reading some articles and soon, Luke tells him that dinner's ready.

Luke's already set the table and he brings their plates out for them. It's a nice warm plate of pasta, bread, and side salads. "Traditional doctor fare," he says as he puts a plate in front of Reid. "The first thing I learned to cook in med school. It's fast, easy, and hits the spot."

"I didn't even have time to make meals like this," Reid tells him. "But the neighborhood restaurants knew me on a first name basis."

"I bet," Luke laughs and takes a seat. "I was covered for undergrad. My parents and grandmothers would never let me starve but I was on my own afterward."

"So, you don't have to take your brother around anymore?" Reid wonders when he takes a bite of his pasta. It's good and as Luke says, it hits the spot.

"Aaron? Oh, no. He's been bombarded by the rest of the family. We went out the night before when he first came in and then we hung out at the farm yesterday. He lives in Seattle so we don't really get to see him much."

"He's pretty hot," he speaks, taking a bite of his bread.

"What!" Luke exclaims, mouth dropping open in surprise. "You think that my brother's hot?"

"Well, I think that you're hot. Apparently it runs in the family," he chews and speaks.

Reid looks down at his plate and glances over at Luke. He's smiling at him, ducking his head to hide it. Luke clears his throat, poking at his food before he takes a bite. "All right, just don't go hitting on my brother. He's straight."

"It's a good thing I fell for the gay one then."

The filter in Reid's brain is just allowing these phrases to slip through one at a time. One look at Luke and he can tell that he doesn't mind it either.

They finish their dinner and Luke stands to clear their plates. Reid's finishing his water when Luke returns and slips his arms around him from behind. "I promised dessert and sex, didn't I?" he asks, speaking in Reid's ear.

Feeling Luke's warm breath against his ear makes him shiver and he nods. "You did, yes."

"I plan on delivering. Come with me, Dr. Oliver."

Luke leads him into the bedroom and provides the last of a very satisfying meal.

\---

It's the middle of the night. Reid can hear the sound of a phone ringing that's not his and the bed shifts. A second later, the phone stops ringing, and he hears Luke's voice.

"Dr. Snyder," he answers, voice groggy and hoarse. "Yes? Oh, hello, Mrs. Hilts. Is he -- uh-huh, yes." Luke shifts again and begins to sit up a little. Reid's bare arm is cold with Luke no longer pressing against him. "Right, no. The results were negative. There's a very little margin for error in those tests that we conducted. Um, I don't have the file with me right now. No, sorry."

Reid's about to reach over to turn on the light but Luke catches his hand, holding on to it.

"Absolutely. I'll be right there and I'll take a look at him. Okay, see you soon." He hangs up and he places the phone back on the nightstand. "Sorry," he apologies to Reid.

"Not your fault," Reid mumbles, opening his eyes to look at Luke.

"There's an emergency and I have to get going," Luke leans down for a kiss before he gets out of bed. Reid reaches over and turns on the light anyway so Luke can find his clothes. Each item of clothing is somewhere on the floor, scattered with Reid's.

Reid watches Luke get dressed and finds that it's just as entertaining as Luke getting undressed. Luke sees him watching and smiles at him, chuckling. Once he's fully dressed, he takes a seat at the edge of the bed, and leans down to kiss Reid again.

"I'll see you later today."

Reid nods and turns on his side to go back to sleep. He doesn't have to be awake for another few hours. "Lock the door, will you?" he closes his eyes and Luke turns off the light again. Before he leaves, he moves his fingers through Reid's hair, and Reid waits until he hears the front door close.

He can still feel Luke's fingers against his scalp and it suddenly feels a lot colder in the room.


	8. Chapter 8

It's the day of the hospital Thanksgiving and Reid doesn't even realize it until he's standing in the hallway surrounded by hospital decorations. "Oh sh--"

"Dr. Oliver!" Bob calls out to him and he turns around to face him.

"Dr. Hughes," he replies.

"I thought that you weren't gonna come to the Thanksgiving feast?"

"I wasn't. I'm not. I just got called in early this morning." He rubs the back of his neck, feeling like he's being cornered into helping with this lunch. It's bad enough that he's agreed to socialize with a bunch of people that he could care less about this afternoon. He's pretty sure that he's only agreed to it because of the guilt he feels about his impressions of Luke at the bar.

"Well, stick around for a little while if you want. I'm sure Dr. Snyder would appreciate the help." Bob gives him a pat on the shoulder as he walks past him and into the cafeteria.

The reason Reid's down here is to get something to eat but now that they're setting up, he thinks that he'll just get something at home.

Despite his tired body's protests and as much as he knows he's going to regret this, he walks through the door, and looks around. He recognizes several doctors and a few nurses that he's terrorized. Those nurses scurry away from him now. His eyes still scan the room and then he spots him.

Luke turns his head and his eyes connect with Reid's. He puts the paper plates down and then he goes to meet him near the door. "Dr. Oliver, this is a surprise."

"I could say the same to you Dr. Snyder. Have you slept at all?"

Luke shrugs his shoulders. "Some. I got a couple of hours in my office."

"Well, I just wanted to stop by and see how things were shaping up," he glances around the room, watching a couple of doctors spread the tablecloth on the long table. "If ..." he sighs, trying to summon the words. "If you need another hand ..."

Luke laughs and crosses his arms over his body, shaking his head. "This is painful for you," he says good-naturedly. "Go home, Reid. Get some rest and I'll come by afterward."

In front of almost every employee in the hospital, Reid closes the distance between them, and kisses him in full view of all the curious eyes.

When they pull away, Luke has a wide smile on his face, and Reid's thought that he's seen him with a smile on his face before but this is something else. Reid can't tear his eyes away from him. Luke's the first one to break their stare, ducking his head, and Reid leans forward again to press a kiss to his temple.

"See ya," Reid tells him and turns around to make his grand exit. He knows that everyone in the room is focused on the both of them or on his back as he walks away from the scene. There's a satisfying feeling he gets from being the center of attention.

Now everyone knows that they're a couple.

\---

A few hours later, Reid pulls at tie that he's slipped on, and it just feels too tight no matter how many times he reties it.

He's showered, shaved, and since it's a casual thing he's only wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, and even managed to catch a few hours of sleep after he got home. He feels fine. He's getting hungry but that's not anything new. Taking a seat at the edge of the bed, he finally settles on that familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Anxiety.

It's more than anxiety. Reid doesn't do family gatherings. He barely went to any of his own. Thanksgiving had never really been any kind of special event in his house. Everywhere he goes in the hospital, he's reminded that it's probably normal to have a large Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends.

His family is gone and any friends that he has aren't the kind of friends that he wants to celebrate anything with.

This is definitely all Luke's thing. Luke is the reason that he's gonna be there. He owes it to him to be there after the horrible things that he thought.

The doorbell rings once and then twice and on the third ring, he stands up to answer it.

Luke's there, eyes wide, all smiles. The smile falters when he looks at Reid.

"Are you okay?"

Reid doesn't realize that he isn't smiling and he changes that, smiling a little. "Yeah, I'm ... fine."

Luke walks inside and Reid tries to stop him but Luke already closes the door behind him. "What's up? Do you ... do you not wanna go? Did you change your mind? Because it's okay if you don't wanna meet my family and everything. I think I kinda forced you into it and --"

Reid shuts him up with a kiss and Luke relaxes into it before he pulls away. His hands are on Reid's arms, holding him for a moment before releasing him.

"I don't really do family ... things," Reid tells him. "I never really had one myself and in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly in the running for Mr. Congeniality." Luke chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest. "No one's ever ... no one's ever wanted me to 'meet the family'. I've never been that guy."

Reid can see Luke's gaze soften into that sympathetic, puppy dog thing that he does. Reid knows that that isn't pity. That's the way that Luke reacts to a lot of things.

"Reid, if this is gonna make you uncomfortable, then I don't want to put you into that situation just for me. I can come here after and we can just do our own thing."

"No," Reid says firmly. "This isn't my first relationship, you know," Luke laughs and nods. "So, I know about the whole give and take thing and I know you want me there so I'll be there."

"Really?" Luke asks.

"Yeah, really."

"All right, but just say the word and we'll split. Snyder-Walsh family gatherings can be a little crazy."

"You're a little crazy so I suppose that's an inherited trait." Reid smirks and Luke glares before it turns into a smile.

They kiss, Reid grabs his jacket, and then they're off to the farm.

\---

Reid can easily imagine Luke growing up on a farm. Luke certainly has a build of a farmer. He's all broad shoulders and firm muscles, perfect for manual labor. Instead, Luke became a doctor. But, the minute that they step out of the car, Luke takes a long look around. The love that he has for this kind of environment is obvious to anyone who looks at him.

Luke seems to be lost in a memory until he turns his head to look at Reid. "Here we are," he announces, walking around the car to join Reid's side. "Home sweet home."

"Looks ..." Dirty, smells, too many animals. "Rugged," he concludes.

Luke laughs as if he's able to read his mind. "Ready?" he asks him as they walk to the front door.

"Sure, are those pies ready?"

Luke smiles and shakes his head. He knocks on the door and Reid's impressed that anyone can hear it. The second the door opens, it's all noise. It comes out toward them in a blast, kids screaming, adults talking and laughing.

Reid's starting to feel the strain of his tie again.

"Kids! Calm down," he hears a man say.

"Luke!" a short elderly woman with a thick head of curly brown hair reaches for him to embrace him. "Come here, my boy," she squeezes the hell out of him and Luke's laughing, hugging her back.

"Okay, Grandma. Can't breathe," he kisses her cheek and then pulls away, still holding on to her hand. "Grandma Emma, this is Dr. Reid Oliver."

"Dr. Oliver," she speaks to him like she knows him. "It's such a joy to meet you. I've heard so much about you from Luke," she reaches forward and clasps his hand and the feeling settles into a warm, calm sensation in the pit of his stomach.

"Joy's probably an overstatement," Luke nudges his shoulder and rolls his eyes. "But, um, I've heard a lot about your cooking."

"Well, then you have to come in and have a sample. Come in, come in, boys," she moves aside and ushers them both in.

"Luke!" Another man comes toward Luke and gives him a hug.

A chorus of "Luke" begins to ring out as soon as Luke enters the room.

Reid takes a step back to observe it all. He doesn't think that he's ever met anyone that's so well-liked as Luke Snyder. Everyone loves him. He's starting to think that he might too.

"Reid," Luke calls out to him and Reid cautiously walks closer. Luke takes his hand and they make the rounds, getting several introductions out of the way. There are two sisters, Natalie and Faith. There's a little brother, Ethan. There are a million and one cousins. Finally, he stands next to the man who called out to the kids earlier. "Reid, this is my dad, Holden Snyder."

Luke is almost 30 but Holden looks at Reid like they're going out to prom and he better have his precious baby boy home by a reasonable time. They shake hands and it's all very polite and cordial.

"Welcome, Reid. Did Luke tell you about a little tradition that we have around here?"

"Tradition?"

"Dad," Luke's fitting into his role as the teenage prom date. All he's missing is a pout and an eye roll. "Reid doesn't have to --"

"Come on, Luke. It's almost time," Holden taps his watch, raising both eyebrows, and then clasping his hand on Luke's shoulder.

"All right, all right, I'll be there. I'm just looking for mom." Reid gives him his patented "what the fuck" look and Luke shakes his head. "You'll see. I'm just looking for ... mom!" he finds her and she smiles when she sees him.

"Honey," she holds him tightly against her and eventually releases him. "Is this ... is this him?" she asks as she looks directly at him.

"I am him. I am the one that Luke has been raving about," Reid smirks and introduces himself. "Dr. Reid Oliver," he shakes her hand and she does the same.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," her smile falters a little and he notices, a curious expression on his face. "Well, we're eating soon so let me just wrangle up the kids."

She slips away and he watches her walk away. Luke catches him watching her and he nods his head toward her. "Is everyone in your family hot? " he makes an off-hand comment and he almost laughs when he sees Luke's horrified expression.

"Please stop thinking that everyone in my family is hot. I'm starting to feel like you're making some kind of list and my name keeps going down in the rankings."

"It's always at the top," he assures him and leans in to kiss him.

Luke smiles when he pulls away. "Better be. No, wait, there shouldn't be a list. No list," he sticks his finger in the middle of Reid's chest, wanting to emphasize his point.

"No list," Reid repeats.

There's a commotion by the door and they both turn to look. Luke leans in to explain, "Every year the Snyders cut a hubbard squash. It's kind of a tradition that we've done forever. It's this giant, huge ..." Luke stops speaking and keeps his eyes on the door.

Reid follows his gaze and stares curiously. There's no squash in that doorway.

A man walks into the room and his stare is focused on one person only. "Luke?"

Luke takes in a deep breath and releases it slowly before speaking. He looks at Reid and then he looks back toward the door.

"Noah."

Everyone in the room freezes and Luke's mom is the first to speak, "Noah, I'm so glad you made it."

"You knew about this?" Luke accuses her.

"This is your first Thanksgiving back at home, honey. Noah wanted to come by and see you."

"Well, here I am. Satisfied?" he holds out his arms, putting himself on display.

"Luke ..."

"No, I'm outta here," Luke pauses before he takes a step. "Reid?" he questions and Reid can do nothing but follow him out the door, unsure of what's going on around him.

They walk out the door and Luke's practically running back to the car.

"Hey, hold it," Reid chases after him, holding on to his shoulder as he fumbles to get his keys. "Hey, hey," Reid soothes him as much as he can, reaching forward, and taking Luke's keys out of his hand. Luke lets him and keeps his head down. "Come on, give me a tour of the place."

"What?" Luke asks, still lost in his thoughts.

"Let's take a walk," he says instead.

Luke nods and is leading the way, walking away from the house, and away from everyone who's looking out at the both of them right now.

They say nothing as they walk. Reid's allowing him to walk off whatever's going on and if he wants to talk then that's fine. If he doesn't then they're getting a nice, cold walk on the property.

"Noah was my ... he was my first everything," he begins to speak after they've been walking for a little while. "First love, first boyfriend, first person who ever wanted me, I think."

"And why is your first boyfriend showing up at your family's Thanksgiving?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him in years. I don't know why he's here and acting like he's part of the family. He's not," Luke sighs and crosses his arms in front of his body.

Reid still doesn't understand Luke's reaction to his presence and asks, "Do you think it's weird or something that I'm here and he's here?"

"No, no, nothing like that. God, I don't even know where to begin to tell this story." Luke stops to face him and he takes in a deep breath, his breath visible when he exhales. "Noah and I had a pretty rocky relationship. I was so desperate when I met him. I just wanted someone to want me, you know? I was in love with my best friend from high school and he more or less hated me after I told him I was gay."

While Luke speaks, Reid begins to slowly turn around, following the path they took to get here.

"Anyway, Noah and I met when we were interning for the local television station here. He was actually dating my friend Maddie and then we ended up kissing. But, Noah was pretty deep in the closet. He was so deep that I think he was about to hit Narnia in there. His dad was this strict military guy. Homophobic and he tried to kill me ... twice."

"Wait, what?" Reid looks at him, unable to believe what he's hearing. "He ... what?"

"Yeah. First he tried to shoot me and I hurt my back in the fall and ended up in the hospital where he tried to shoot something into my IV line."

"I really hope that this story ends by you telling me that that son of a bitch is in jail."

"He is. But, that's what I went through when Noah and I were dating. I really should've taken it as a bad sign of what's to come," he rubs the back of his neck and sighs to himself. "We have a long history. Long story short, I stayed with him for longer than I should've. I was finally able to get away when I went to Chicago for school."

"What do you mean, finally? He didn't hurt you did he?" Reid's ready to run back to that house and pummel the guy if Luke tells him yes.

"Physically? No. Emotionally," he shrugs his shoulders. "Being with him made me realize that maybe I don't deserve to be in a relationship, that I'm not really worth the trouble, and that anyone would be crazy to date me with my history."

"Well, I have my eccentricities but I wouldn't go as far as to call me crazy," Reid can't help but comment even though there's no levity to his words. Reid turns to face him and takes his hand out of his pocket to cup Luke's cold cheek in his warm palm. "Listen, no one should make you feel that way. Whatever you've gone through has made you the guy that I've fallen for so if your history's part of who you are now, I accept it, whatever it is."

"Reid, I --"

"No," he stops him before he can refute his words. "You absolutely deserve to be in a relationship. That you think that at all because of him tells me that he's the one who didn't deserve to be with you. Anyone would be crazy to turn you down."

"Reid," Luke smiles a shaky smile and Reid covers those lips with his own, able to taste the tear that falls. They stand there, slowly kissing, Luke's arms wrapped tightly around Reid, and Reid holding him close.

When he does eventually pull away, he smiles at him, and gently thumbs his chin. "Come on, let's go back there and you can show off your hot boyfriend."

"You just wanna go back for the food," Luke accuses him, slipping his hand into Reid's.

Reid's fingers lace through Luke's and he nods decisively. "Well, who am I to deny your Grandma the pleasure of seeing all her pies devoured in one sitting?"

Luke laughs and that's exactly what Reid wants to hear. Inside, he's seething at the thought of having to see that Noah again. Reid's amazed by this innate protective feeling that he has when it comes to Luke Snyder. It's yet another new feeling that settles into him like a second skin. As much as this should terrify him, it doesn't.

The advantages of being with Luke Snyder far outweigh any disadvantages that he can think of.

As they approach the house, Luke hesitates, not wanting to walk forward. Reid gives him an encouraging nudge and squeezes his hand gently. Luke takes in a deep breath and keeps his head up as he begins to walk forward. That determination that he sees in Luke's posture is the Luke that Reid knows, the Luke that's convinced him to do things that he's never wanted to do, and feel things that he's sure he would never feel.

Reid thinks that the Snyder family Thanksgiving is just about to get a little more interesting.


	9. Chapter 9

Luke and Reid walk back into the house and Reid sees that Noah is still there, acting very much like a part of the family. Noah looks at the both of them and his eyes zero in on their hands. Then, he looks back at Luke. "Who's this?"

"Are you kidding me? Did you really just ask me that?" Luke asks him.

"Luke, let's go somewhere where we can talk." Noah makes a move to touch Luke's elbow and Luke immediately pulls away but takes a step off to the side so that there aren't too many eavesdroppers. Reid looks around the room to see that everyone is interested in this conversation but they're trying their best to look occupied.

"No, Noah. I want you to leave. You have no right to be here."

"Luke, I know it's been a long time, and I thought that if we just talked ..."

"If we just talked, what? I'd forget about the way that you treated me? That I'd forget you married a woman you barely know and protected her at all costs while forgetting about me? That I'd forget you blamed me for your father dying? That I'd forget that instead of being with me, you wanted to join the army? That you blamed me for your accident? No, I haven't forgotten about any of that."

"Luke, you know that that's not what --"

"I'm done, Noah. I stuck with you through everything. I was there for you. I wanted to be with you and make it work more than anything. But, no matter how much I loved you, there was only so much that I could take. I'm not going to put myself through that again. I ... I don't deserve that," Luke looks at Reid and Reid conveys his encouragement silently, giving his hand a squeeze. Then Luke looks back at Noah. "What did you think was gonna happen here?"

"I just ... I thought that since you were back and I was back from LA that maybe ... we always said that --"

"You said that we couldn't be friends. You said that we couldn't be friends and then you said that you'd be waiting for me. Well, I never said that I'd be waiting for you. I've moved on and I'd like that for you too."

Noah looks at Reid again and Reid raises both eyebrows, already unimpressed by this guy. If he wants to start something in the middle of a kitchen with the whole of Luke's family watching, he welcomes it.

"Is it because he's a doctor too and --"

"Oh my god, Noah. Just leave. Please, just go."

Noah stands there and pauses for a moment, looking at the both of them once again. "All right."

"Noah," Luke's mom walks toward him as she watches him begin to walk out the door.

"No, it's okay Lily. This was a bad idea anyway. Thank you," he says to her and then leaves, closing the door behind him.

"What is he talking about, mom?" Luke asks, releasing Reid's hand, and crossing his arms over his chest. "Did you invite him over?"

"He's always alone on the holidays, Luke. I just thought that ..."

"You thought wrong and you invited him over when you know that I'm with Reid?"

"No, no. I invited him over before I knew that you were officially seeing anyone. I couldn't just take back --"

"Mom, it's been years since Noah and I saw each other. It's been years since we've been together. I know that you and dad have always liked him but you can't do those things without asking me first. Did you even think about me at all when making that decision?"

"I'm so sorry, Luke. I'm sorry," she apologizes.

Holden's watching the whole thing and he tentative steps beside Lily. "He's right, Lily. Luke and Noah aren't together anymore."

Reid's seeing the big picture here, parents who think that the ex-boyfriend is the perfect partner, ignoring the unhappiness of their son, and he can see the absence of a picture perfect childhood despite the picture perfect surroundings.

"But, please, Luke. We want you to be here. We want you and Reid here. Please don't let us ruin today for you."

The kids are absent from the kitchen when this is all taking place and they pick the perfect time to come bursting through the door. "Come on, Luke! Let's go out to the barn. You haven't seen the loft that daddy built," Natalie (he thinks that it's that one) tells him.

"He put a TV up there and everything!" Ethan exclaims. "It's so cool."

"It's so cool, huh?" Luke smiles a little as he looks at them. "Then, I guess I'm gonna have to check it out." His brother and sister leave and Luke's about to follow before he looks at him. "You gonna be okay in here?"

"Don't worry about me. I was promised samples," he motions toward the spread of food on the counter.

"Right," Luke chuckles. "I'll be back then." He leaves to follow his siblings and Reid begins to walk toward the tray of cookies he spotted earlier.

"Reid, can I offer you something to drink?" Holden asks, blocking access to the tray.

"Uh, sure. I'll take a beer."

Holden heads to the fridge and grabs him a bottle. Reid has enough time to pick up a cookie, stuff it in his mouth, and take another couple of cookies to hold on to. Holden laughs when he sees him. "Are you hungry? I could get you a plate of something if you can't wait for dinner to start."

"I'm always hungry," he mumbles around the cookie. "I'm a surgeon, always in and out of the operating room. I always look for a free minute to eat," and he generally loves food anyway whether or not he's had a long surgery. Holden opens the bottle for him and passes it to Reid. "Thanks."

"And I just wanted to apologize to you too." Reid shifts a little, already uncomfortable with where this is going. "We wanted to make a good impression on you and I think we got off to a bad start."

"Well, inviting his ex-boyfriend was definitely a bonehead move. I think Luke's made it pretty clear that he's done with him and onto the bigger and better," he pops another cookie in, chewing before he takes a sip of his beer.

"Um, right. You're right." Reid's familiar with the look that Holden gives him. Reid isn't going to bother with niceties. After the way that he's seen them treat Luke, he doesn't think that they deserve an ounce of understanding or sympathy from him.

"Okay, let the festivities begin! I've brought the good wine," an older woman walks through the door, carrying a very large bottle of wine. She enters with her sunglasses on and full mink coat. She's straight out of Dynasty and Reid knows exactly who this is. "And who does this gorgeous man belong to?" her eyes zero in on him as she takes off her glasses to get a better look at him.

"Uh, he's Lu -- I mean, this is Dr. Reid Oliver, mother," Lily tells her, helping her take off her coat.

"Dr. Reid Oliver!" she exclaims. "So, you're the man that Luke is besotted with. Do you drink wine?"

"Yes," he tells her, a pleased expression on his face by the many compliments she's showering him with.

"Well, my boy. Let's get to know one another," she loops her arm through his and leads him out into the living room.

Yeah, Reid likes her already.

\---

Reid abandoned his beer long ago for the large glass of wine that Lucinda shoved into his hand when they took a seat on the couch. Luke doesn't come back until he's almost done with it and sees the two of them laughing on the couch together.

"And then he jumped up and ran naked all the way from the pond back to the house. His face turned so red!"

"Oh ... my god," Luke covers his face with his hands and crosses his arms in front of him. "Please tell me that you're not sharing embarrassing stories, Grandmother."

"No, that is something that I cannot do, Luke. More wine, Reid?"

"I'd better not," he laughs, still imagining a young Luke Snyder running out of the pond just because his cousin screams that there's a snake in there and Luke believes him. "I like to keep my head clear."

"Yes, well, you are the brilliant neurosurgeon. You should know. Okay then, I'll take this bottle to liven things up in the kitchen." She gives Reid's shoulder a squeeze and stands, pressing a kiss to Luke's cheek in passing. "Darling, he's a keeper."

She leaves and then it's the two of them together again with various relatives scattered throughout the living room. "Having a good time?" Luke asks, amused as he sits next to him on the couch.

"Now I am. Lucinda's a hoot," he leans back and takes in Luke's appearance. "You seem better."

"Well, you're having a good time and I had fun with my siblings. Not quite the disaster that it was shaping up to be earlier. But, the night's still young and when the Snyders and the Walshes are together, anything can happen."

"Your family isn't lacking in drama. I'll give you that."

"You don't mind it?"

"No," Reid shakes his head. "Keeps things interesting."

"So, when it's just the two of us again, you'll be bored out of your mind?"

"Stop fishing, Dr. Snyder," he says with a smile that Luke returns.

"Okay, guys! It's time," one of the relatives pops head out of the kitchen to make the announcement to the room.

"Come on," Luke grabs Reid's hand and leads him back into the kitchen. Reid watches Holden wrestle a giant squash through the door and he calls for help.

"Luke! Give your old man a hand."

Luke laughs and heads over there, Holden and Luke smile at each other before Luke picks up the other end to get it to the counter.

"I've got the saw!" someone else makes the announcement and the saw is in his hand.

"Reid, we need you too. You're our resident neurosurgeon so you're probably used to carving into something like this," Holden says, taking the saw, and handing it to him.

"Um, if any cranial structure were this large, I'd worry." But, he takes the saw in hand and presses it in the middle of the squash. Luke's holding one side while another man is holding on to the other side, keeping it steady so that Reid can make that first incision. Reid begins to cut to sounds of encouragement and cheering. Luke's the loudest of them all and he can't help but smile as he gets the saw down to the bottom. Then he steps aside so that others can have a turn.

He finds himself holding on to the massive hubbard squash until it's completely split. When the ordeal is over, he claps with everyone else.

"All right, everyone. Dinner," Emma calls them over to the table that's already set. "Holden, you're over here. Janet, there that's right. Luke and Reid, you're over there," she assigns them their seats and they walk to the other side of the table to sit down.

Emma stands at the head of the table, presiding over the meal. She makes some family announcements and welcomes the new additions to the table. "This year we have the addition of beautiful baby Mark," and as if on cue, the baby coos in response, and everyone laughs. "We have Aaron's wife, Lucy," she smiles at them and at Aaron. "And we have Dr. Reid Oliver, new to Oakdale and very welcome here with us." Reid smirks and turns to look at Luke who's smiling widely at him. Reid can't help but smile a little wider then. "Now, everyone hold hands."

Reid takes Luke hand in his and he's not surprised by how natural that feels.

Emma says a blessing for them and afterward, they're allowed to eat. It's all noise and grabbing plates and Reid feels very comfortable. He'd have thought that Luke would have a formal meal, everyone wearing their Sunday best, and polite chatter around the room. It's nothing like he's imagined it.

Luke takes his plate to fill it with turkey and someone passes him the green beans.

It's all very domestic and traditional and he somehow became part of their celebration. This whole thing is going at lightning speed for him. Part of him sort of doesn't mind all of this. The other part of him wants to run in the other direction. But, when it comes down to making that decision, he takes one look at Luke and he never wants to leave.

\---

After dinner, everyone goes their separate ways. Everyone starts taking advantage of the wine and free flowing alcohol. This leads to fighting about old issues that should've been put to rest years ago. The parents with the kids start to leave and in between all that fighting, people take off in each other's cars, leaving angry partners stranded at the Snyder farm.

"Luke, I'm sorry. Can we borrow your car? Carly took off in ours and we really need to get home."

"Uh, yeah. Sure," he takes out his keys and gives them to Jack.

"Thank you. We'll have it back as soon as we can."

"And how are we gonna get outta here?" Reid asks but he's feeling a little high on the excessive amount of desserts he's consumed so he doesn't mind sticking around for a little while longer.

"Um," Luke thinks, most of the cars gone. "We could try getting a ride from my dad. Oh, shoot. He has my brother and sister tonight. There isn't anymore room in his truck. Grandmother left earlier."

"Oh and she had that nice, comfortable limo."

"We could call a cab." Reid shrugs his shoulders. "Or we could just stay here and you could continue to stuff your face until there aren't anymore leftovers," Luke chuckles.

"You know, I'm not completely averse to that idea."

"Really?"

Reid nods, "Sure."

"All right," Luke smiles. "I'll go see if my old room's taken." Luke leaves his side and Reid rests his hands on his stomach while he waits for him to return. A few minutes later, Luke comes back into the living room. "Room's ours. Come on," he reaches for Reid's hand and helps pull him up.

They head upstairs and into the room that Luke used to call his own. It's turned into a guest room but there are still remnants of Luke there. His high school diploma hangs on the wall, a few pictures of Luke with his family, and a few awards that he's won ... for writing.

"You were a writer?" Reid notices as he looks at the wall.

"I dabbled a little," Luke says as he pulls back the covers on the bed. "I used to want to be a novelist or the next John Grisham," he chuckles. "But, I wanted to help people more and I didn't think that that was something that I could do by writing. Well, I write in medical charts and I did an article for a journal once but that's as far as I go these days."

"Never too late to jump right back on the wagon again," Reid reaches down and takes off his shirt, leaving it on the chair. It's warm throughout the house anyway. No need to keep all their clothes on.

That move distracts Luke from what he's doing, opting to watch Reid instead. "Yeah, maybe." He stops fixing the pillows and walks over to Reid, placing his hands against his bare chest. "You were really great today."

"I was on my best behavior," Reid mentions as his hands begin to move underneath Luke's shirt.

"I think that you deserve to be rewarded," Luke smiles before leaning in to kiss him.

Their hands begin to roam, Luke's hand moving into Reid's hair, and grabbing the short, curly strands as they kiss passionately. Reid's hand presses against the small of Luke's back, bringing the two of them closer together.

Just as they begin to move back toward the bed, the sound of one of their pagers goes off. They both pull apart, reaching into their pants to see whose is going off.

"It's mine," Luke tells him, taking his phone from his other pocket.

Reid nods and walks back to the bed, taking a seat and removing his shoes and socks.

Luke dials the hospital and speaks, "Okay and he had a reaction to it? Where is he now? Move him into a private room and tell his mother that I'll be right there." Ending the call, he looks over at Reid, and sighs. "Sorry, I have to go. I'll be back but you don't have to wait up for me."

"Wasn't planning on it. Now I've got the bed all to myself," he makes his point by falling back on the bed and stretching out on it.

Luke laughs and heads to the bed, leaning over a smiling Reid. "Bye," he says and after a kiss, he leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

Reid sighs and removes his pants, leaving him in his boxers. He settles in for the night, turning off the lamp, and pulling the covers up around himself. Aside from the drama that they encountered when they first got here, the drama that followed, and everyone else's drama that followed later, he thinks that this has been a pretty great day.

He knows that Grandma Emma's food absolutely lives up to what he was promised. He knows that Luke's family is just as crazy as he expected them to be. He knows that Luke's ex-boyfriend caused more damage than he can comprehend. He knows Luke has two quality grandmothers.

Most importantly, he knows he's put up with all of that and more because he is love with Dr. Luke Snyder.

With that thought in mind, he falls into a peaceful sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

"Reid."

Reid is still asleep but begins to wake slowly when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Reid?"

He begins to open his eyes, squinting at the bright light that suddenly invades. Blinking a few times, he turns to see Luke, and to feel him sitting at the edge of the bed. He sees him still wearing his lab coat and very much awake.

"Luke? What ... what's wrong?"

"I would've paged you but I took my Grandma's car to the hospital. It was the only car left so I came back to get you."

Reid tries to wake up a little more and takes in a deep breath. Luke's hand moves over his bare shoulder and chest before he pulls his fingers back suddenly.

"Wait, get me for what?" Reid asks, glancing at the time and seeing that it's a little after one in the morning.

"I need you for a consult. It's the patient that I've been attending to. I see something on the x-ray and I need you to take a look at it."

"What do you see on it?" Reid asks, already moving out of bed to put his clothes back on.

"There's ... there's um," Luke looks down at his hands and takes in a deep breath.

Reid's pulling his pants back on and reaches for his shirt. He pauses before he pulls it on, looking at Luke. "It's all right. We'll take a look at it." He buttons his shirt and then stands so he can finish dressing.

"It looks like a mass. I can't be sure."

"Can't you see it on the x-ray?"

"He's showing some symptoms but I need you to take a look at him."

"All right, let's go." He slips on his shoes, takes his coat, and he follows Luke downstairs and out the door. They drive to the hospital in silence but Reid occasionally looks over at Luke. This really isn't the sort of thing that Luke deals with. He's accommodating to all of his patients and concerned about their well-being but he isn't involved in any pediatric specialty.

When they arrive at the hospital, they get out of the car, and Luke keeps his hands in his lab coat pockets. "Um, I'll let them know that you're coming. You can get your things out of your locker first."

"Okay. What's the room number?"

"311 B."

"I'll be right there."

The mood's changed between them entirely, completely professional now. But, Luke has every right to be occupied and concerned if the situation is grave.

Reid goes to his locker, putting on his lab coat, getting his stethoscope, and anything that he may need for a general check-up. After preparing himself, he walks the dim hallways to find the room.

When he arrives, Luke's standing next to the bed, and a woman sits in the chair, holding the hand of her young son. "Dr. Oliver, this is Mrs. Hilts," Luke introduces him to the woman. He nods toward her but keeps his eyes on the bed.

The boy looks at him and he looks back. He breaks their gaze and immediately takes the boy's chart, glancing at the name on the chart: Matthew.

"Hi Matt," he says to the boy. "How are ya feeling?"

"Sleepy," the boy smiles at him.

"Yeah, it's probably like way past your bedtime." He places the chart back and moves in close to the bed. When he takes out his pen light, flashing it in the boy's eyes, he can see that there isn't much of a response, pupils remain almost the same. "Can you see the light, Matthew?"

"A little."

"He's been having trouble with his vision," the mother says in a panicked voice.

"Well, freaking out about it doesn't help. He can see. That's something. What does my finger look like, Matthew?" he holds it up in front of him.

"Uh, there are two fingers?"

"Does anything hurt?"

"My back," he speaks, the exhaustion evident in his voice.

"All right, well, I'm gonna take a look at the x-rays Dr. Snyder took earlier. We'll be right back. Get some rest until we're back," he tells him. Matt nods and settles back into the pillow.

Luke walks with him into the next room, closing the door behind him. Then he grabs a folder, opening it and turning on the backlight for the viewer. He fixes the x-rays to the viewer so that they're able to clearly see it.

Reid takes one look at it and finds the same thing that Luke told him he saw earlier.

"It's right there in the cerebellum," Reid points to it.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's a classic case. Practically textbook."

Luke sighs and leans back against the table as he looks at the next x-ray. "Should I have seen this? Should I have known about this? He had these symptoms but I just didn't think that it was ... it seemed like he ..."

"Hey, if the symptoms were mild, it wouldn't have been noticeable without the MRI. You caught it now and that's what matters. You also have the help of the most brilliant neurosurgeon on the planet."

"Reid, don't joke."

"Who's joking? There's a reason that I have a reputation, Luke. It isn't just because I got my diploma out of a box of cracker jacks."

"I'm sorry," he apologizes. "I'm ... I've never done this before."

"Never done what before?"

"Made a diagnosis like this for one of my patients. They prepare you for it but I never ... I've never encountered it. I know that this is completely unprofessional and I don't want to go back in there feeling this vulnerable. The only reason that I'm saying this now is because it's late and I'm really tired and I feel like I'm here talking to my boyfriend and not just my colleague."

"And I want you to tell me these things," Reid catches his gaze to make sure that he's aware of that. "But, you're right. You can't be the one to break apart in there. This is about them and what they're going through. We do what we have to do as their doctors."

"I don't know how you can make that disconnect."

"I have to," he responds before turning to look back at the x-rays. "I'll keep these for now. Come on, let's deliver the news."

After turning off the lights, they leave the private room, and walk back into see the patient.

Reid is the one who delivers the news to both the mother and Matthew. Matthew's reaction is minimal. But, that's to be expected. It's late at night, Matthew's already exhibiting symptoms of weariness, and the gravity of the situation is probably too big to comprehend.

The mother, on the other hand, is reacting enough for the both of them. She begins to cry, asking a million questions that Reid can't possibly answer, and asking questions that aren't meant for Reid, questions that Reid's heard one too many times that he'll never be able to explain.

Reid doesn't know how to handle those type of responses. All he can tell her is that there's no reason to enter into the grieving period already. Her son's very much alive and that's what they need to remember. Reid's determined to keep it this way.

Luke's the one who has the sympathetic words and tries to reassure her. When he tells them to get some rest, they both leave the room, and walk out into the hallway.

"She shouldn't be coddled," Reid says with some distaste, hands in his pockets as he walks back toward the lockers.

"She deserves to hear some kind words, Reid. I can't just drop the bomb like that and walk away like you apparently can."

"I do it because I have to. They need to be strong enough to fight this and the truth is, we don't know whether or not he's going to pull through."

"Nobody needs to hear that when they're going through something like this."

"That kid is going to make it. He is going to be fine. Anything less than that? It's inconceivable to me." Luke's gaze flickers, an unreadable expression on his face. Eventually, he moves a step closer, closes his eyes, and gently presses his forehead to Reid's. Reid's arms come up, settling on Luke's upper arms, and beginning to move them up and down slowly to comfort him. "You've gotta be strong too," he tells him, speaking into his ear.

"I will be," Luke tells him that he will but it's not very assuring. "I'm just ... it's been a really, really long day," he exhales and Reid brings one of his hands up to cup Luke's cheek.

"Is this what it's like to be with you on all major holidays? Ex-boyfriends show up, relatives take your car, and other big family dramas all happen a few days a year?"

"Sometimes more than a few days a year." Luke opens his eyes and pulls back a little to look at Reid. "Why? Are you ready to back out?" he's smiling a little but there's that insecurity in Luke's eyes that Reid's familiar with.

"And miss all the fun?" Reid shakes his head. "Nope."

Luke smiles at him but he drops it quickly, turning his head to look at the door of the room they've just left.

"Tomorrow, I'll schedule a biopsy to confirm and I'll need a CT scan."

Luke nods and Reid takes his hand. They make a quick stop to the lockers, grabbing their coats, and removing any stethoscopes and medical equipment in hand before they walk back to the car.

"Do you want me to drop you off back at your place?" Luke asks when he's behind the wheel.

Reid thinks about it but shakes his head. "No, it's okay."

Luke glances over at him and smirks. "Dr. Reid Oliver prefers my childhood bed to his own?"

"Hey, Snyder, if you wanna turn this car around? Feel free."

Luke laughs a little and Reid thinks it's preferable to the Dr. Luke Snyder he saw throughout the day. He's seen Luke hurt and angry and worried and scared and all in a day. No one should have this much come down on them in one day. But, he has a feeling that these kind of natural disasters are attracted to Luke. Even now, he seems so exhausted, and Reid knows that that's partly because of the lack of sleep but partly because of the drama that follows him.

When they arrive back at the farm, they head straight to Luke's room, close, and lock the door behind them. They take off their clothes and lay them on the chair before Luke pulls back the covers on the bed. It's not a king sized bed so they don't have that much room to spread out like they do in Reid's bed but it's comfortable enough to fit the both of them.

Reid gets in first and finds a comfortable position, settling on his side as he waits for Luke. Luke turns off the light and then stretches out next to Reid. He's on his side, facing away from Reid, and Reid instinctively comes up behind him. He presses his chest to Luke's back and wraps an arm around his body.

"You okay?" Reid asks, pressing a kiss to Luke's shoulder.

"No," Luke speaks quietly. "Not really."

"Try to sleep," Reid murmurs against his skin.

Luke begins to turn around in his arms until they're facing each other. Reid can make him out a little in the moonlight. "I don't know if I can."

"Are you thinking about the kid?"

"Well, yeah. I'm thinking about him. I'm thinking about why he has to handle this at such a young age."

"It's a crappy thing to deal with at any age."

"Yeah, I know that but he's just a kid. I just ... I think that I can find myself relating to it and I know that I shouldn't. It's only going to make this tougher and I do have to be strong for them. I've been treating him for about a year now. He's always had some problems but I didn't think that it'd develop into anything as serious as this."

"No one expects these things. A kid like that should be running around and getting scrapes and bruises and breaking his arm falling out of his tree house but he's not. He's been dealt a really bad hand. A lot of kids don't have it easy."

Luke brings his hand up to Reid's face, gently moving his thumb over his jawline. "What about you? Something tells me that you didn't have it easy."

Reid wonders how the conversation suddenly turns to him. He's more comfortable talking about a kid with a brain tumor or the multiple kids with tumors than with talking about himself. No one's really cared enough to know about his own childhood. That's the sort of thing that you talk about with ... well, with someone like Luke.

"Yeah, you'd be right. You used school to escape from bad relationships and I did the same. My folks passed away when I was young and I went to live with my aunt and uncle. My aunt died and that just left me and my uncle and I don't really think that I had a shot at childhood afterward."

"After what?"

"After he found out that he could use me as a cash cow. I used to compete in these chess competitions and I was on my way to becoming the next Bobby Fischer sans the crazy until I finally decided to put a stop to it in high school."

"That's terrible."

"I got out of it eventually, got away from him, escaped to school, and ended up practicing in Dallas."

"And now you're here."

"And now I'm here."

"I'm glad that you are," Luke smiles and Reid leans in to kiss him, letting him feel that Reid's glad to be here too. More than glad. It's been a long time since he's wanted to share a bed with someone.

They kiss for a few minutes, lips moving slowly, lazily until Reid pulls away with a small smile on his face. "Rest," he tells him and settles back on his side.

"Goodnight, Reid," Luke murmurs, already settling in for the night.

"Night," Reid whispers and stays close behind him, wrapping his arm around him again. Luke places his hand on top of Reid's, linking their fingers together. They fall asleep just like that, tangled together, and finally resting after the long day.


	11. Chapter 11

When Reid wakes up the following morning, the light is bright in the room, and he slowly open his eyes. He's stretching out on the bed, glancing at the empty spot beside him. Lifting his head, he looks at the clock, and sees that it isn't too late in the morning. His internal time clock is telling him to wake anyway.

Just as he's about to get up out of bed, the door opens, and Luke walks through. Smiling, he walks toward him and takes a seat on the bed. "Morning." A coffee cup appears from nowhere and Luke places it on the nightstand. "Brought you some coffee. I don't think either one of us should be awake but I just couldn't sleep that well."

"I know," Reid tells him, sitting up in bed. "I think you kicked me once."

"Oh god, really? I'm, I'm so sorry."

"Relax," Reid chuckles. "I'm kidding. You were just tossing and turning."

"Well, I'm sorry for that. You'll be able to sleep well tonight in your own bed." That isn't supposed to sting as much as it does. "It's gonna be another long day," he sighs. "But, in the meantime, there are plenty of leftovers downstairs if you want ... who am I kidding? You'll probably eat the whole spread."

"I'm interested in a little more than breakfast right now."

"Oh, really? That's a first," Luke chuckles but leans in to meet Reid's kiss.

They do have another long day ahead of them and most of it is going to be spent in the hospital. He wants to be able to have one good thing before they start to face the bad things.

"Lemme lock the door," Luke leaves him and goes to secure the door.

When he returns, Reid pulls the covers back, and Luke goes to him immediately. Luke's just pulled on an old shirt and a pair of plaid pajama pants to go downstairs. He quickly strips the pants first, stepping out of them, and leaving them on the floor. Reid helps to take off his shirt when the sleeves get stuck over his arms.

He moves on the bed, still kissing Reid and begins to move his lips down over his chest, his stomach, and then he reaches his boxers. His hand presses against the growing bulge that he feels there and then pulls down his boxers just enough to take his cock out. Luke takes him into his mouth and sucks slowly.

Reid's fingers move through Luke's hair, clenching, and giving him more bed head than he came in with.

Luke makes Reid's cock wet with his mouth, sucking on him for a good few minutes before pulling off. Then, Luke straddles him. "I can't believe I'm doing this in this house," he whispers to Reid before leaning in for a kiss. "Noah never wanted to. He always said, not here."

"I should send him a thank you note."

"For what?"

"For making you wait so that you can have amazing sex with me in here," Reid smirks before kissing him again. Luke smiles against his lips and pulls away, taking two fingers, and sucking on them.

Luke moves them behind him and Reid watches as he penetrates himself. He's trying to keep his voice down, moaning quietly. Reid watches Luke's cock in front of him and he urges Luke closer. When he's close enough, he takes Luke's cock into his mouth while Luke continues to finger himself.

Luke pulls away first and groans the second that his cock falls out of Reid's mouth.

He then reaches for his discarded pants on the floor, looking for the condom that he keeps in his back pocket in case they need it, and a small one-time use only supply of lube. Finding both, he unwraps the condom, and places it on Reid like he's done several times now. He uses the lube liberally, stroking Reid to make sure he's thoroughly prepared. Reid's more than prepared.

He positions himself on top of Reid, taking Reid's cock, and pressing it against his hole. He begins to sink down on top of him and he moans when Reid's inside. Reid can feel him clenching around his cock. He's still not relaxed enough and he's tight. As good as it feels for Reid, he urges Luke to calm down. Placing his hands on his thighs, he rubs up and down slowly. That seems to work. Luke's body relaxes so that he's able to take in Reid's cock.

He begins to ride him slowly up and down. Reid's holding back his own moans as he looks up at Luke. Luke's pleasure and desire only help to fuel his own. He's never been with anyone who's fueled him as much as Luke has. It's intense with him every single time and sometimes it scares him how much he feels for him because he's never felt anything like it before. Is this the way love is supposed to feel or is Reid just going overboard with it? He isn't sure.

"Hey," Luke says, making eye contact with Reid. "Where are you? Come back to me."

Luke leans down for a heated kiss before he begins to really ride him. The bed is a little too close to the wall and the headboard taps against it every so often. Reid isn't sure how loud it is or if it's really making as much noise as he thinks it is. All he can see and feel is Luke.

They're both moaning quietly, Reid's hands on Luke's waist to steady him before he plants his feet flat on the bed and raising his hips to thrust hard inside of Luke. That makes Luke cry out and he slaps his hand against his mouth to prevent more sound from escaping.

Reid's fingers dig into Luke's skin so hard that he's sure there are going to be bruises there. Luke's other hand just rests on top of Reid's as if that's exactly what he wants them to do to him.

Luke's moaning loudly into his hand and Reid can tell that he's just about there. Before he can do anything else to push Luke over the edge, Luke comes hard all over Reid's skin, chest, and stomach. Luke's hole clenches tight around him and Reid brings Luke down hard on his cock which is now completely buried inside of him. He comes hard, eyes shut tightly as a strong wave of pleasure moves through him.

They're both breathing heavy when it's over, Luke's hand falling away from his mouth to take in gulps of air.

Reid opens his eyes to look above him, bringing his hand up to move his fingers through Luke's damp hair. Luke smiles down at him and leans in to kiss him tenderly.

They stay against each other like that, sticky, hot but incredibly satisfied.

"Shower?" Reid suggests.

"Great idea." Luke leans in for another kiss before he carefully moves off of Reid.

They take a couple of towels and head into the bathroom. They don't have time to do more than take an actual shower but that doesn't stop their hands from roaming under the pretense of getting clean.

After showering, they change back into their clothes from the day before. "I'll drop you off at your place before I go back home," Luke tells him as he buttons his shirt. "Then, we'll meet at the hospital?"

"Yeah," Reid's okay with the plan. He has a few other patient files to go through anyway and now he's adding Matt to the list. "What about your car?"

"I'll call Jack and ask him to bring it back."

Once they're dressed, they walk downstairs together where Reid sees Luke's relatives sitting around the large table. There are the two sisters, the younger brother and the older brother, Luke's dad, and Grandma Emma.

"Good morning, boys," Holden smiles a little too widely for his liking. That's just creepy.

"Morning," Grandma Emma has the decency to look a little embarrassed, avoiding eye contact with them both. "We've saved a spot for you both. Eat, Reid," Emma squeezes his shoulder in passing as she walks back to the counter to grab another helping of eggs.

There are two empty seats next to ... Farrah? Finn? Faith! and the older brother, Aaron.

Reid glances at Luke and he's ten shades of red and getting darker by the second. "Where did you all come from?" he asks nervously, quickly taking his seat and Reid follows.

"Daddy brought us," Natalie says before stuffing another bite of pancake into her mouth. That's really the only one of Luke's younger siblings that Reid remembers because they both stole cookies together. Partners in crime.

"I got your car back from Jack and Aaron drove mine over here."

"Oh, thanks," Luke's helping himself to the food in front of him but also burying himself in his plate so that nobody can see his face. Seeing Luke so embarrassed like this even though he was happily riding his cock upstairs is such a switch that it makes Reid laugh. Luke kicks him underneath the table and even though his calf is throbbing, he still thinks it's funny.

"What's so funny?" Ethan asks. "Why are you all red, Luke?"

"Ethan, honey, have some more milk," Emma swoops in and pours him another glass in an attempt to distract him.

"Oh, my god," Luke covers his face with his hands and shakes his head.

"You're just drawing attention to yourself," Reid helpfully comments as he takes the plate of eggs and the other plate of leftover ham.

"Oh, he already did that when you two were --"

"Faith!" Luke and his dad yell in unison.

Reid smirks and sits back as he watches the scene unfold before him. Ethan keeps asking questions and nothing can shut him up. Luke continues to hide in the food. Emma continues bringing food to the table as if she didn't hear her grandson having sex upstairs.

Reid stays quiet, happily making a grab for the last piece of leftover pie.

\---

Luke and Reid manage to arrive at the hospital at the same time, changing into their lab coats, and then they part ways. Reid stays in his office to look over Matthew's x-rays and several tests that Luke's ordered, and Luke goes to check on the patient.

This isn't anything that Reid hasn't seen before. As he said the previous night, it's textbook. Even so, he makes sure to leave no stone unturned, no part of that boy's brain unexamined. He'll have to do another more thorough examination on the kid and order a couple more tests to get updates on the previous results now that they know what they're dealing with.

He loses track of time as he looks through every single piece of information.

Luke finds him in the room and closes the door behind him. Reid glances up at him and then back down at the charts. "How's he doing?" Reid wonders when Luke takes a seat across from him. He knows where he's been. Luke isn't supposed to be working today.

"He's ... worried and scared but he's trying to stay strong for his mom." Reid says nothing so Luke continues. "She wants to know how soon you'll be able to do the surgery."

"I'll do a thorough exam first. There's no pediatric neurosurgeon on staff here so I'll make a few calls. I can perform the biopsy and take a slice to confirm if it's malignant or benign. Then we'll have to see where we go from there. I'll go talk to them."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"You can if you want. Maybe they won't drive me nuts with you in the room."

Luke rolls his eyes but there's no malice behind the action. "Yeah, she asked about you. I told her that you're the best that we have and I trust you completely." Coming from anyone else, Reid would take that compliment, have it inflate his ego, and forget all about it. With Luke, it takes on an entirely different meaning.

"I, uh, yeah. We should talk to them," Reid rubs the back of his neck then quickly puts the papers back together in the folder. "Let's go." Reid stands first, followed by Luke.

They walk to the room and Reid speaks to them both about what he's planning on doing, what the steps are after that, and he tries not to be flippant about it. He even makes the kid laugh a few times. The mother doesn't appreciate it but she seems completely devoid of a sense of humor anyway.

Luke's the one who picks up his slack, assuring them both, and calming down the mother. He's really good at that. He imagines that every parent who brings their kid to Luke absolutely loves him. Well, it's not like he can really blame them. Even though Reid's not really great at the whole social etiquette bit, he admires the way that Luke genuinely cares about every single one of his patients. Reid's even sure he remembers all of their names, what sports they play, whether or not little Susie likes little Tommy and that's why she pushes him around on the playground. Luke just seems like that kind of guy.

Reid has to do the neurological exam and Luke tells them that he has some other business to attend to. So, he leaves them for now but promises to return.

It's time for Reid to get to work.

The mother's relatively quiet as he examines her kid. He has to check reflexes, coordination, muscle strength, and various tests to make sure that the tumor hasn't spread. There's already some concern that it has when he observes some of Matthew's movements but it isn't severe or too noticeable to the untrained eye. He makes a few notes and tells them that he'll return when they have a room for the CT scan.

As he leaves the room, he takes in a deep breath, and feels a little more energized after the encounter. He feels determined, a rush of adrenaline moving through him at the thought of doing what he does best.

He takes off for his office, a little bounce in his step as he walks down the hallway.

\---

Turns out that Luke's capable of pulling a few strings in the peds department and is able to get him a room for the CT scan and bumps him up to get an operating room when he's ready for the biopsy. After delivering the good news, Luke leaves so that he isn't a distraction, and tells him that he'll pick him up later.

Reid gets to work, able to get his scan and examine it to find out exactly where the tumor is. He's unable to determine the type without having a segment of it underneath a microscope. But, it looks just like all the other ependymomas that he's been able to diagnose in the past. It hasn't spread, Matthew's symptoms are mild, and there's no reason for him to believe that the tumor can't be taken out completely but that's not really his call to make.

He gathers a team together but he'll still take the lead. Luke trusts him with this case but oncology isn't his specialty. He deals with traumatic brain injuries, freak accidents, and a series of other traumas that interest him. The reason that he cares so much about this one is because it's Luke's patient. So, he's going to do the best thing for the kid.

He calls in a pediatric oncologist from Chicago and a colleague in Dallas who specializes in pediatric neurosurgery to work directly with the patient. It's something that he should've done earlier but he thinks that young Matthew will benefit from his expertise before he consults with others.

He receives an encouraging text from Luke, promising sandwiches to his heart's content to be dropped off for him later. And those are two things that he can't wait to see.

For now, he concentrates on all the fun brain parts.


	12. Chapter 12

It's been several days since Reid's seen Luke. Between his new pediatric patient and Oakdale's never ending flow of brain injuries (soccer ball to the back of the head, an unfortunate run-in with a shovel to name a few, and someone's sister's cousin who tried to run their ex-lover's girlfriend's car off the road or some kind of nonsense), he's been busy.

They've been texting often, both of them busy with their work schedules. Sometimes they manage to cross paths in the hallways, taking their coffee breaks together, and then they part ways.

It's tiring. When Reid's vision begins to blur from exhaustion, he knows that he needs a break.

It's the end of the day. It's dark out and most of the cars in the parking lot are gone. Nurses and doctors are coming in to work late shifts and filling those empty parking spaces. He doesn't see Luke's car in the lot so he texts him:

Going home to sleep for an eternity. See ya.

Reid's surprised when he receives a text in reply when he reaches his car:

I'll join you. Be out in a sec.

Reid hasn't asked for his company but he finds that he doesn't mind that Luke doesn't really care. He's just going to be there and that's okay with Reid.

Luke jogs out to meet him near his car and leans in for a brief kiss. "Hey, I didn't know that you were here," Reid tells him as he opens the doors.

"Yeah, my grandmother wanted me to do some foundation paperwork for the hospital. She's in Europe somewhere or Asia. I don't really remember." Luke gets into the car and buckles up. "My dad dropped me off and he's supposed to pick me up."

"What happened to your car?" Reid asks as he begins the drive to his place.

"My sister borrowed it."

"You set some teenager on the loose with your car? All kinds of mayhem can ensue from that scenario."

"Oh, my god," he laughs, covering his face with his hands, and shaking his head. Pulling his hands away, he looks over at Reid. "I've been trying to convince myself that that's not gonna happen. She's just going over to a friend's and then she's going right home." Reid nods and concentrates on the road. Luke discreetly slips his hand into Reid's and gives it a squeeze. When Reid glances down at their clasped hands, Luke says, "I've missed you."

Reid can't help but smile and Luke seems content with that even though he doesn't return the sentiment.

When they reach Reid's place, the first thing that Reid does is try to make a sandwich. Except, he hasn't been home long enough to make meals so he's either out of sandwich fixings or everything's expired.

Reid sighs and Luke looks up from leaning against the counter. "What?"

"No food."

"We could order something," he suggests. "From Al's."

That thought appeals to Reid. Al's one of his favorite places to eat around here. Diner food, plenty of options, and he's sure that Luke's either related to someone there or knows someone there that can throw in some free food.

"Sounds good."

"You remember Katie, the woman who came into the ER? My sort of cousin? Her best friend is Henry. He runs the place. They make a killer cornbread."

"It's one of my regulars," Reid pulls a take out menu from a drawer and brings it over to Luke who's walking over to the couch.

"It is?" Luke asks, surprised. "Hmm," he takes the menu from Reid's hands.

"Hmm, what?" Reid wonders, sitting next to him.

"There are still so many things that I don't know about you yet."

"There really isn't much to know."

"Somehow I doubt that," Luke flips open the menu and Reid reaches over to place his hand against Luke's knee, causing him to turn towards Reid.

"There isn't much to know," Reid reiterates. "I wasn't kidnapped when I was a kid, I didn't have a kidney transplant, I didn't have any jerk boyfriends."

"How about any boyfriends?" Luke sneaks that question in, a small smile on his face.

"A couple," Reid answers honestly. "Both college, both ... not that interesting."

"Had my fair share of those," Luke relates, covering Reid's hand with his own. "But, I never let them get close. I couldn't. I didn't even ..." he trails, reflecting for a moment. "I never joined them for drinks after a long day of interning. I went straight home. Sometimes," he sighs. Reid waits patiently, allowing him time to say whatever he needs to say. "Sometimes I wanted a drink so badly. One time, I went to the liquor store and I sat in my car for maybe three hours, talking myself into it, talking myself out of it. I was so angry at myself for wanting it. I was so angry that I still hadn't conquered that craving. That was probably one of the worst times. I did slip a couple of times, early on. I was still with Noah and I was so ..."

"I know, I met him."

Luke laughs, shaking his head. "Things got bad and it was just easier to drink than not to. So, I did. My grandmother helped me through that one and she told me that I had to get the hell out of Oakdale. So, I did. I didn't go very far but I went to Chicago. A lot of people tried to stop me but I got out."

"And you came back."

"I felt like I was ready when I did. I was still sort of messed up before but I started going to more AA meetings. I started focusing more on work and the incredible kids I got to know and treat. I felt well adjusted when I came home. I felt better."

"Hasn't been that long since you've been back. How do you feel now?"

"Now?" he repeats the question. "I'm happy. I'm really happy," he smiles and Reid smiles right back at him. "That has a lot to do with you."

"With me?"

"Yeah, you, Dr. Oliver," he nudges his arm against Reid's affectionately. "I'm ... no one's ever," he stumbles over his words, chuckling nervously. "No one's ever looked at me the way that you do. No one's ever treated me the way that you do. It makes me feel like I can do anything. And I'm crazy about you. When I'm not with you, I'm thinking about you and wondering what you're doing and who you're scaring off or insulting now," he still laughs, running his fingers through his hair quickly. "I guess, this must be ... what being in love really feels like."

Reid feels like he should be surprised or the word should put him into a state of shock or paralysis. Instead, he feels like his heart's going to explode out of his chest, there are annoying butterflies in his stomach, and he can't stop the smile that's forming as much as he's trying to. "Is that what it is?"

"Must be. I'm pretty sure that I'm in love with you, Dr. Oliver." When Luke says it, his tone is soft, gentle but Reid can feel how confident he is. He's sitting upright, looking directly at Reid, so sure of his feelings.

"I love you too, Dr. Snyder." The words come surprisingly easy for Reid. For a man who hasn't felt much love in his life, he's sure that he knows how it feels to love Luke Snyder.

Luke gives him that bright smile that he loves to see and Reid brings his hand up to cup his cheek in his palm. Reid finds himself smiling right back at him as they lean in to kiss.

The food's forgotten for now as they begin to kiss deeply.

Reid wishes that he could say that they said those words to one another and the day passed like any ordinary day but that's not what happens at all. Despite his exhaustion and his hunger, all he can think is Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke.

They never seem to get enough of each other, taking their time as they kiss on the couch. Luke's the one who pulls Reid into his own bedroom. He turns on the light and strips Reid first, caressing and kissing every inch of skin that's revealed to him. Reid thinks that it's the sexiest thing that he's ever seen and ever felt.

Luke really takes his time as he runs his fingertips over Reid's chest, arms, and stomach. He finds that one of his favorite spots is the crook of Reid's neck, just above the place where neck and shoulder meet. Luke spends a significant time there, licking, sucking, and gently biting. Reid lets him, closing his eyes as he feels lips moving over his skin.

They make it to the bed where they spend the next couple of hours exploring one another, kissing and touching, always touching. Reid's legs are spread, feet flat on the bed as Luke moves between them. He spends a significant amount of time near Reid's hole, giving him the best rimming of his life. Luke works him open with his tongue and fingers until Reid's begging him to be fucked.

It's the first time that Luke's done that for him and hopefully it won't be the last.

Reid finds out that Luke is very good at this. He grabs a condom, preparing it and himself as he hovers over Reid, leaning in to kiss him as he presses his cock against Reid's hole. Then he sinks in, pulling back to look at Reid. They stay connected just like that, their gaze on one another as Luke moves deeper inside. It's been a really long time for Reid and it takes him a while to adjust to the size of Luke's thick cock. But, when he's all the way inside, Luke is relentless with him.

He always keeps him on his toes, changing the pace of his thrusts from achingly slow to pounding so hard that it has Reid's eyes rolling back into his head. It's good. It's really good and Reid isn't really sure why they've never done this before. Reid loves feeling the muscles of Luke's broad shoulders underneath his fingertips, enjoys the feel of Luke's hips pumping forward to bring Luke deep inside of him.

Reid hits his orgasm first and Luke follows shortly after, crushing his lips to Reid's, fingers tangling in his hair as pleasure moves through him, making his body tremble. Reid holds him close, the both of them panting quietly, and slowly catching their breath.

They have at least a couple more orgasms each throughout the night, unable to move afterward, and they fall asleep in each other's arms.

\---

"Mmm," Luke mumbles and Reid hears it. It feels like they've just fallen asleep and Reid can use another 15 more hours. What wakes Luke up is the sound of his phone ringing somewhere in the room. Luke reluctantly stumbles out of bed and blindly searches for his pants.

Just as he reaches them, the ringing stops but it starts again another few minutes later.

Reid tries not to wake but Luke's hitting things left and right in the dark and he can't ignore the noise. Reaching over, he turns on the light which blinds them both but Luke finally finds his phone.

"Hello?" he answers, groggy, shielding his eyes from the light. "Mmm, dad. Sorry, I didn't call you. I was -- what? When?"

Reid's beeper goes off now and he's about to get out of bed to get it but Luke finds it first and tosses it to him. Glancing down, he sees that the hospital is paging him for an emergency.

"Oh god," Luke looks at Reid and then down at his beeper. "No, I'll ... we'll be right there." Luke hangs up and begins to gather his clothes.

"What happened?"

"My sister," he pauses and looks at the beeper. "I think that's my sister."

"All right, let's go."

They both dress quickly and then they head back to the hospital.

When they arrive, Luke goes straight to the emergency room, and Reid quickly changes into his scrubs. Then, he heads to emergency where he receives the information from the nurse on duty. He has her age, she's conscious but she did experience impact when the car hit the divider on the road. She may be intoxicated but she's responsive.

He gathers the information as he walks into the emergency area. The emergency doctor on staff is already attending to her but he's there to see if there's any kind of cranial trauma. Luke's there with his parents, siblings, and another kid that he doesn't recognize.

Luke and the doctor are giving her an examination, everyone crowded around her. "Hey," Reid says, physically standing between Faith and the rest of her family. "Give the girl a little room to breathe."

"Reid --"

"She needs some tests done," he interrupts. He orders the nurse to get him what he needs and in the meantime, examines Luke's sister. She seems fairly responsive but she's still disoriented from the crash or the alcohol in her system. "She's lucky that it wasn't worse than this," he says to Ma and Pa Snyder.

"Is she all right?" Lily asks him.

"I'm ordering a CT scan just to check but she seems okay other than a case of extreme teenage stupidity. I'm going to keep her overnight. She probably has a concussion from the impact. Now you guys might wanna deal with that," he motions behind them to see a police officer waiting to speak to them.

The Snyders turn away and Luke moves to his sister's bedside. She's starting to cry and he's there to calm her down. "Shh, Faithy. It's okay."

"No, it's not!" she cries harder.

He reaches for her hand and runs his fingers through her hair slowly. She seems to calm down but keeps her eyes on the police officer and her parents. Luke's presence does have a calming affect on her. It makes him wonder how many times that he's had to do that for her. All those Snyder kids and their dysfunctions. It's a miracle that Luke's a functioning member of society.

"Miss Snyder?" the officer comes into the room and Reid thinks that it's time to exit.

"I'll get those tests started," Reid takes her chart and walks away from the scene.

Turning around, he catches Luke's eye, and Luke gives him a small smile that Reid returns before leaving. They're going to have a lot to deal with and unless they need him to give his medical opinion on how high her blood alcohol level is (which is already documented on her chart), he can be useful elsewhere.

There are a couple more emergencies to deal with before he can get the scan of Faith's head. When he does get her scan done, he sees that she has no immediate trauma to deal with other than the trauma from the accident that she caused which totaled Luke's car. He tells a nurse to wake her up every so often but she should get some rest.

He's been interrupted from his sleep and he'd like some rest too.

One of these days, he and Luke are going to have an uninterrupted night but he doesn't know when that'll be. Luke runs into Reid just as he's leaving. "How is she?"

"She's fine. Concussed but she'll be okay."

"I thought so. Just kind of hard to look at her as a patient when I see her there." Reid knows that Luke's probably done an exam on her himself before he walked into the room. "Anyway, she would've been arrested if she weren't at the hospital. She caused a lot of damage on the freeway when she plowed through that divider and almost got herself killed. I just hope that she learns from this."

"If she doesn't, then I'm afraid to ask what would make her learn her lesson."

"Come on, Reid. Can you not make fun of my sister on the night she almost died?" Luke seems to know Reid's answer for that so he just sighs heavily. "Well, I'm gonna go home with my mom. She's pretty shaken up about this."

"All right."

Luke gives him a look and speaks to him in a more gentle tone, "I'm really sorry about tonight."

Reid shrugs, "Things happen."

Luke leans forward to kiss him and Reid returns his kiss, resting his hand against Luke's waist. "I love you," Luke speaks against his lips.

Reid nods and Luke gives his shoulder a squeeze before leaving.

With emergencies handled and Luke's sister asleep, he looks down at his watch. He has work in the morning anyway and it's pointless to leave only to come back in a few hours. He heads to his office, closing the door behind him.

The couch in his office is uncomfortable. He remembers falling asleep on it once during a break and he woke up with several knots in his back.

But, it's better than the alternative. He doesn't want to sleep on the germ infested floors or in his chair. He'll never fall asleep. He tries to make the couch as comfortable as possible and stretches out on it.

Earlier, he remembers falling asleep in his comfortable bed after having intense sex with one of the most attractive ... the most attractive man that he's ever set his eyes on. He remembers feeling Luke draped over his body, arm heavy around his torso, head tucked into the crook of Reid's neck, and Reid feeling content and happy.

Sure, he remembers feeling happiness before when he got the hell out of the apartment he shared with his Uncle, when he got his diploma, when he performed his first surgery, when he performed his first surgery that gained him some acclaim but this type of happiness is different. This is unlike anything that he's ever felt before.

Part of him is absolutely terrified at the thought of feeling this and scared of losing it. It's only been a few months. What happens between now and six months from now? Luke's right that they don't really know that much about each other.

Reid can't remember the last time that he's felt this insecure and unsure. He's been sure about a lot of things in his life, confident that things will work out even though he isn't really sure if they will. If he can make the blind see and the traumatized whole again, how does this freak him out? Does it freak him out?

This isn't about medicine. This isn't about cutting someone open and seeing what's inside. There's more involved than what's right in front of him, than what he can touch. There's thinking about someone else's feelings, enduring his family, dealing with busy work schedules. This is a brand new part of his life to slice open and examine and what's scary is that it doesn't scare him as much as it should.

If someone told him a few short months ago that he would be contemplating pros and cons of a relationship, sleeping on a couch because he wants to wake up in a few hours to check on his boyfriend's (or guy he's dating since he's not really great with labels) little sister, and taking on a peds patient because of this guy, he'd never believe that hypothetical person.

Turning on his side, he tries to fall asleep thinking about the way that he felt earlier this evening, Luke against his body, comfortable, tired, and all sexed out.


	13. Chapter 13

Reid wakes up starving.

He remembers skipping dinner last night and going straight to dessert, so to speak. He rubs his eyes and shifts on the uncomfortable couch, twisting his back to get a knot out. His hand rubs the back of his neck as he moves into a sitting position, planting his feet on the floor.

Looking directly in front of him on his desk, he sees a white bag, and a large cup of coffee from Java.

Smiling, he reaches forward and takes the bag, seeing the note from Luke taped to it.

_Morning, Dr. Oliver. Ordered you some breakfast since we didn't have dinner last night as planned (not complaining). I have rounds today so I'll see you._

_Love,  
Luke_

Fighting against his first instinct to throw the note away, he folds it, and puts it in his pocket.

Opening the bag to look at its contents, it's every diner's greasy dream, hash browns, omelet, pancakes, and more. It's all still warm too so this must've been delivered not too long ago.

Reid gets to work on it immediately.

\---

After finishing breakfast and still working on his coffee, he goes to check on Faith Snyder. One of the nurses informs him that there has been nothing to report. She doesn't have any symptoms to reveal any hidden brain trauma and she seems alert. That's all that Reid needs to know but he'll do another quick exam and deliver the news to the rest of the family.

As he's about to turn a corner, he spots Luke speaking with his mother. Luke's in his scrubs, lab coat on, and ready for rounds but Reid's not surprised to see that he makes a stop to check on his sister.

He's about to approach them both when he hears Lily say, "You and Dr. Oliver arrived together last night."

Luke stuffs his hands in his pockets and nods, "Yeah, I was with him when dad called."

"Luke," she places her hand gently against his arm as he speaks to him. "Luke, are things serious between you and Dr. Oliver?"

"Mom," Luke sighs.

"No, honey, it's just that you've only known him for a few months."

"Sometimes, that's all it takes."

"And how often do you get to see each other? You both must be so busy."

"We make time for each other no matter what we're doing." Reid thinks about their stolen moments at the coffee machine, making out in Reid's office chair until one of them receives a page, checking in with each other through text messages, phone calls, and e-mails, and he realizes how true that is. They do make time for each other.

"I just don't want to see you hurt."

"There are no guarantees when it comes to that but I'm happy when I'm with him. He makes me happy in a way that ..." Luke smiles to himself and shrugs his shoulders. "I love him and I don't need your approval for that."

Lily seems taken aback by the use of the "L" word but she collects herself quickly. "I didn't say you needed it, Luke," she gives him a small smile, lowering her hand. "If you're happy then you know that that's all that I want. I just want you to make sure that he's who you want."

"He is."

Luke's so confident about their relationship. He speaks without hesitation, without pause. He's so certain and that makes Reid feel just as certain.

Not wanting to interrupt, Reid leaves, and goes to check on several other patients before returning to Faith's room. When he arrives, the only two in there are Lily and the younger boy he saw last night that he now knows as Parker. He examines Faith, checking her reflexes, making sure that she's responsive. He tells Lily, Ms. Walsh, about her daughter's condition and he's on his way.

Matthew returns today for his surgery and Reid wants to check-in on his progress. Knocking on the door, he walks inside, and sees Luke sitting in the chair next to the bed. Matthew's asleep.

"Hey," Luke smiles widely when he sees him but doesn't stand, keeping his voice quiet so he doesn't wake the kid.

"Hey. Didn't expect to see you in here."

"Yeah, I just thought I'd check up on him before he went in with Dr. Huang," the pediatric neurosurgeon that Reid found. "His mom just stepped out for some air."

"Then maybe I should get out of here before she comes back. She doesn't like me very much."

Luke laughs, "You say that with such surprise. Besides, she doesn't hate you. She's just --"

"-- used to your fuzzy, hand-holding bedside manner? Then you're to blame. You're the one who set the precedent."

"Oh yeah," Luke rolls his eyes. "All my fault." Luke's smile wavers as he looks at Matthew, clearly worrying about him. Reid walks forward and brings his hand up, hovering it above Luke's shoulder before it slowly comes down. Luke reaches up and holds on to his hand, keeping his eyes on the bed.

Reid cares about his patients. He cares a lot about the success rate of his surgeries. Failure is never an option for him. It happens but he does everything in his power to keep it from happening. He's lost a number of patients throughout the years because of aggressive tumors, cranial bleeds, and everything in between. The toughest are the kids. Adults have that taste of life but kids don't even have a shot and that just doesn't feel very fair.

He knows exactly how Luke's feeling right now but one look at Luke and anyone can tell that he somehow cares more than the average person. Reid remembers the conversation they had about Matthew, how it's the first patient he's treated with an illness like this. It's getting to him.

"I started treating him a year ago," Luke speaks. Reid remembers hearing that from him and at the time he hadn't thought of it as strange but Luke hasn't been back in Oakdale that long. "I wasn't even back in town but I stopped by the hospital to check out the peds department. I ran into Matt and his mother in the waiting room. I came from playing a game of basketball with my dad and I didn't change out of my shoes yet. They were these really old, blue sneakers but Matt asked about them. He wanted a pair," he chuckles in the middle of his story, lost in that memory.

"He wanted a pair of your ratty old sneakers?"

"Probably a newer pair, Reid."

Reid's already adjusting to all the ways that Luke says his name. This time it means, "He wanted a newer pair of shoes. Duh, Reid. I thought you were a brilliant neurosurgeon?" Reid adds the last part but he's sure that Luke means the rest of it.

"It was charming and he made me laugh and I offered to take a look at him. He was really sick. He had bronchitis. Coughing all over the place in between laughing and telling me stories. He's a really good kid, fun kid," Luke's voice trails as he looks at Matt with a somber expression on his face.

"You want me to wake him up to make you laugh? Looks like you need one."

Luke brings Reid's hand to his lips and kisses his palm before he stands up, still holding Reid's hand in his. "I love you but you drive me nuts."

"You must say that to all the guys," Reid smirks.

"Just you," Luke leans forward and presses a kiss to his cheek.

"Dr. Oliver?" Matthew's mother comes back into the room as Luke pulls away from Reid's cheek. "And Dr. Snyder," she smiles as he looks between the both of them. "Am I interrupting?"

"No, no," Luke shakes his head, returning her smile. "We just wanted to check up on him."

"I know this is none of my business but are you two together?"

"You're right that's --" Reid begins to speak and Luke quickly interrupts him.

"We are." That previous comment earns him a look from Dr. Snyder and when did he start recognizing looks from him anyway?

"That's great," she smiles at them both. Reid's uncomfortable just looking at her. There's no doubt that her happiness is genuine for them but she's just so ... smiley, way too happy for his liking. Besides, and again, doesn't she hate him? "Well, thank you for staying with him."

"I wanted to see him before anyway. He's pretty out of it though," Luke looks toward the bed. Matthew hasn't even flinched since they came in here.

"Yeah, he's just been sleeping a lot," she shares with him.

Reid knows that it's the tumor that's doing it to him. It's pressing on all kinds of things in the brain that control even the basic functions in life. Nothing should have that much control over someone.

Well, one look at Luke and he can think of something else that manages to take complete control over someone. When it happens, it happens quickly, and takes them over in an all consuming kind of way. Reid can't remember the last time (if ever) that he's felt so out of control. His position here in Oakdale was simple. He'd be the brilliant neurosurgeon running a state-of-the-art neuro wing, eat at every restaurant in this town at least a million times, and he'd be content to cut into people's brains for the rest of his life, knowing that he's the smartest, most brilliant man here.

Now? Now he isn't sure what his position here is, what kind of future he has for himself with Luke in it. But, he knows one thing. He knows that he wants Luke in it. Whatever he's doing, he wants Luke to be there with him. And that thwarts his future plans but he figures that he'll eventually be okay with it.

Tumors, on the other hand, are controlling in different, awful ways. He hopes that Huang knows what he's doing and he's able to hack every little piece away from there.

"I'll be supervising his surgery," he informs Mrs. Hilts. It should come as no surprise. Reid's been keeping close tabs on him, consulting with the doctors he's contacted about the best way to remove the tumor, and all without needing any kind of acknowledgment from the kid or his mother. Okay, so it probably will come as a surprise to the mother.

Her eyes briefly widen and she wipes her face of that emotion, replacing it with the expression of sadness that's usually there. "Thank you, Dr. Oliver for helping my son."

"It's what I do, Mrs. Hilts," he shrugs his shoulders.

He's attentive to all of his patients and if he had his own surgery to do then he'd be in that operating room or if he had another patient in critical condition then he'd be with that patient. He likes to make himself available to healing the ill and shoving them back out into the world. But, all of those routines are a comfort to him. It feeds his compulsiveness and he admits that it temporarily makes him feel good to make those people feel good.

"We'll keep an eye on him," Luke promises her.

"Thank you, Dr. Snyder," she reaches for him and Luke bends down to hug her, holding her close to comfort her. It amazes Reid how easily Luke does that. There's something about him that is warm and inviting and not just to Reid but to anyone else that Luke knows or encounters. Reid thinks that that amount of care and attention helps to make Luke a great doctor despite him getting maybe too emotionally involved.

"Mom?" Matthew begins to wake up, calling out for his mother.

She gives Luke one more squeeze and Luke pulls away so that she can go to him. "We'll give you some time," Luke says to her and she smiles at the both of them.

Reid leads the way, leaving the room with Luke behind him.

"Even I didn't know that you were going to supervise the operation," Luke tells him, glancing into the room one more time before looking at Reid. "Did you sleep at all?"

"A little. On the couch in my office."

Luke places his hand on Reid's arm and rubs up and down slowly, "Why don't you go home and try to sleep some more? You have another ..." He looks down at his watch. "At least another couple of hours. You have some time."

"If I go to sleep now, I'd probably sleep for more than a couple of hours. I should just stay awake and try to barrel through it."

"As long as you're okay ..." he trails, obviously worried.

"Fit as a fiddle," Reid quotes.

"And ready for love," Luke finishes the quote for him. They both smile at one another and Luke sighs. "I really do have other rounds. I have to get going. Did you go by and see my sister yet?"

"Yeah, talked to your mom and met Parker. She's fine."

"I thought she would be. But, thanks for going by to talk to my mom and everything." Luke tells him that he has rounds but he's still lingering around Reid, not even taking a step to leave. "We haven't had an interrupted night since we've known each other," Luke states the facts. "And I would like try to have one of those sometime."

"I wouldn't mind having one of those either."

"How about giving it a try tonight?"

"Tonight it is, Dr. Snyder."

"Thanks, Dr. Oliver." That's when Luke does take a step. He takes a step forward to plant a chaste kiss to Reid's lips. Luke walks away and Reid watches him until he's disappeared around the corner.

Reid catches a nurse watching the both of them, one of those giddy, idiotic expressions on her face. It's not the first time that he's seen that look around here from one of these peons. "Don't you have actual work to do instead of standing around here and wasting time? Go on. Shoo," he waves his hand forward, wanting her to scatter and run away.

She picks up her chart but she's still smiling and leaves the scene.

Reid rolls his eyes and heads to the doctor's lounge for one last consult with Dr. Huang.

\---

Matthew's surgery goes really, really well. Dr. Huang is successful in removing the entire mass with Reid's close supervision. It takes a few hours to be thorough but it's worth the extra time. Matthew's going straight to recovery, he'll be monitored closely afterward. The surgery's really just the beginning. They're going to have to wait and see how he responds but he should be okay. He's optimistic about the outcome.

Dr. Huang and Reid go to deliver the good news to his mother and she's relieved and eager to see her son.

Reid's eager to finally get some rest after two very, very long days. But, he's happy. Successful surgeries always fill him with some kind of glee and a strong sense of accomplishment. He really does love being in the brain. Any brain. Most of all, Matthew's going to recover and heal and that kid will be able to run, jump, skip, and play basketball all he wants with a pair of Luke's ratty old shoes.

He turns his phone on and he sees a text from Luke.

_Done with rounds today. I'm in your office._

It's been an hour and a half since he's sent the text so he wonders if he's still in Reid's office or if he's left.

Reid heads to his office and the lights are off. His secretary's long gone and he opens the door. The light from the hallway comes into the room and he sees a sleeping Luke sprawled on his couch. His hands are tucked underneath his head and he seems to be resting way more comfortably than Reid did the night before. Reid almost doesn't want to wake him. He does him a favor and doesn't turn on the light but he takes a seat at the edge of the couch.

His fingers are itching to touch him and so he does. He brings his hand up to move his fingers slowly through Luke's soft hair. Luke takes in a breath and begins to slowly open his eyes. "Reid?"

"I'd be concerned if you thought that someone else was touching you like this."

Luke laughs and opens his eyes a little more, taking a look at his surroundings. "Guess I must've fallen asleep."

"That you did."

"You're right about this couch though. Ow," he eases himself up and leans into Reid's gentle touch. "How'd the surgery go?"

"Went just fine. He's in recovery right now and will probably be knocked out for a few hours. Kid deserves the rest. We did just hack into his brain."

"You did. I'm really glad that you were there." Luke's hand rests comfortably against Reid's thigh and Reid has trouble concentrating on anything when Luke touches him but especially right there when it's close to other parts of Reid's body. "I'm sorry that I wasn't. I should've been observing or something but I don't know. I feel too close to it all."

Reid wants to say something about that, wants to know if it's really healthy to be that close to any patient. But, then he realizes that this is Luke. Luke being close to anyone and everyone is just Luke's way so he lets it go.

"Plus, you had other rugrats to attend to," Reid contributes to Luke's train of thought.

"Right. They were pretty great today," Luke smiles to himself and rubs his eyes. Goddamn Luke for inflicting those warm, fuzzy feelings in him. He even thinks that that move is c ... c ... adorab ... yeah. Some cutesy word that he can't even utter to himself.

"Come on, to bed with us."

"That sounds promising," Luke smiles and Reid reaches for his hand, helping him up.

They both change out of their scrubs back into their own clothes, grab their briefcases, and then it's off to Reid's place.

This mirrors previous evening, both of them tired, hungry, and after their mutual revelation, they forgot about dinner. Tonight, they're tired and hungry but they both head straight for Reid's bedroom. Reid doesn't even question it. They take off their clothes and share a kiss before climbing into bed.

Reid wraps his arm around Luke and Luke curls up against Reid's body, his head resting next to Reid's, arm over Reid's torso. "Night, Reid," Luke says quietly, the tone in his voice telling Reid that already on his way to sleep.

"Night," Reid whispers, dropping a kiss to Luke's hair as he closes his eyes.

What's happening now is the exact opposite of what he thought they'd be doing tonight. But, he doesn't mind the way that things have happened. In fact, this is an entirely new way to appreciate the man asleep in his arms. As far as he knows (and he hopes he doesn't jinx it by thinking about it) there'll be no nightly interruptions. It'll be a night of peaceful sleep for the first time in their relationship. It's practically landmark.

As he relishes the thought of their first uninterrupted night together, he holds Luke a little tighter, and falls into a deep sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Christmas approaches quickly and it's time for another hospital meal for the kids. Word's spread about the event. Now random people in the town want to contribute to the feast. But, Luke's perfectly happy with that. He takes the donations and whatever they aren't able to use, he's going to donate it to a local food bank.

Luke's a busy, busy guy these days.

That doesn't mean that Reid doesn't get to see him because he does. Luke probably spends five out of seven days at his place. Reid isn't even sure anymore if he can call it his place. Most of the things in the apartment belong to Luke. Luke's papers are scattered all over the desk. Luke's pants are hanging up in the closet. Luke's watch is on Reid's bedside table because he forgot it there the night before.

Reid doesn't exactly know when Luke's integrated himself into his life but the transition happens so slowly that he doesn't notice it until the day before Christmas and Luke is hauling in a Christmas tree.

"What the --"

"Help me with this, will you?"

"No," Reid says from his place on the couch.

"Reid!" Luke yells, struggling to hold it up.

"Oh, for pete's sake," Reid tosses the newspaper on the coffee table and takes his time as he walks up to the tree. "So, what compelled you to wrestle this in here?"

"I thought we ... needed a tree," Luke struggles to pull it in and Reid finally relents, grabbing the other side and helping him with it.

"Did we?" Reid finds himself pulling a heavier tree after that comment. Luke's hands are on his hips and he looks pretty angry. Reid finds it hot when he's mad but he doesn't really like it so much when it's directed toward him.

"I just thought that it'd be something nice for the apartment but if you don't want it then I'll just take it to the hospital and stick it in a hallway or something. I'm sure they'd appreciate it there."

"Christ, did I say that?" Reid drops the tree too to look back at him. "Look, I'm just not a ... I'm not a tree kind of guy. Okay? Christmases weren't really my thing. Everyone went back for Christmas during their breaks but I stayed in school to study and become the genius that we all know I am. So, it's not an insult to your tree. I'm just not used to it and -- Luke, don't look at me like that."

"What?"

One minute, Luke looks like he's about to kill him, and the next, he looks like he's just about ready to smother him with kisses. Well, Reid's not complaining about that last part.

"Come on, you know what. Let's just get this thing outta my doorway."

Luke looks away and then smiles, hiding it behind the tree as he picks it up and hauls it into the apartment. He also has a stand all ready to go, putting it in place, and telling Reid to hold the tree while he adjusts the screws in the stand to keep the tree in place.

"There," Luke says from underneath the tree and comes out, a few pine needles on his face that he brushes off. Reid sees that he's missed one and plucks it out of his hair. Luke keeps smiling at him and then leans in to kiss him. Reid's immediately suspicious about it.

"What's that for?"

"That is for being a really awesome boyfriend and also because even though you had crappy Christmases in the past, I don't want your future to be like that."

"You probably had some killer presents growing up rich," Reid smirks, wrapping his arms around Luke's waist.

"You know us rich kids. We got only the best," Luke's arms wrap around Reid's neck, his fingers eventually making it into the hair that he loves to touch. "No, some of them were nice. Not all of them but some of them. But, speaking of events that happen around the holidays, my mom's having a family --"

"Nope," Reid shakes his head.

"You don't even know what I was gonna say."

"I know that it's heading toward a Walsh/Snyder get together and I'm kinda over those." He endured the Thanksgiving situation, the Faith Synder family crisis, and an unexpected gathering a week ago as a pre-Christmas feast. That's more than enough.

"Reid, they're my family."

"I didn't tell you not to go to them. Go."

"I want you to be there."

"You do remember Thanksgiving, right? I don't think that I'm exactly a visitor that they welcome with open arms."

"How can you say that? My mom's had nothing but nice things to say about you after you treated Faith and you even did that follow-up with my sister a couple of weeks later. My dad likes you. He really does."

"Nice and anything in reference to me in the same sentence aren't words that I hear on a regular basis." But, he's been hearing it a lot when people reference he and Luke. People look at them like they're two adorable little puppies and sometimes Reid hates it. But, all he really cares about is being with Luke. "Besides, Christmas. 'Tis the season for head injuries."

"You're impossible," Luke resigns himself, shaking his head, and planting a kiss to Reid's lips before he untangles himself from him. "Same drill as Thanksgiving if you're interested. Hospital and then at my mom's place this year. Now, help me with the boxes of Christmas decorations I left in the car," he says before heading to the front door.

Christmas tree, Christmas decors at his place. Several months ago, he never would've imagined this existence for himself. He isn't even comfortable with the tree in his apartment and Luke just hauls it in as if they're already --

"Reid, please?" Luke asks, turning around to look at him.

Luke looks so earnest and open and Reid's sure that he's had some terrible Christmases in that bonkers family of his but it's obvious how much Luke believes in this tradition.

It's just a tree. He's going to make sure that Luke vacuums and cleans everything and there is a possibility that Luke may make more of those sugar cookies that he'd made earlier in the week to make up for the mess that he'll probably make.

"Fine, fine," Reid shoos him out the door and Luke smiles widely at him before he practically bounces out the door and to the car to get those decorations.

Reid covers his face with his hands and takes in a deep breath before lowering them.

He is so whipped.

\---

Reid has no idea what he's doing at the Christmas lunch.

His intention had been to bring Luke the lists that he'd left at the apartment and leave. That's all that he was going to do and now he finds himself sitting next to Bob and Kim Hughes and enjoying a very fluffy but flaky biscuit. Okay, the biscuit has a lot to do with why he's here. And the gravy. There's also a large slice of turkey leg that he's been wanting to eat.

"Having a good time?" Luke asks, placing his hands on Reid's shoulders and bending down to speak into his ear.

"If you can call a cafeteria of screaming rugrats a 'good time' then I'm great, yeah," he picks at the biscuit and pops that piece into his mouth.

"They're just talking," Luke laughs and takes his seat next to Reid. Luke's plate's been right there and it took Reid every ounce of strength he has to not start eating off of it. "Wow, I'm surprised everything's still here," Luke looks down at his plate and places his napkin on his lap.

"We've been keeping a close eye on him," Bob promises.

"Is that why you've been asking me about the new equipment for the wing, Bob? You wanted to distract me from Dr. Snyder's plate?"

"Why, Dr. Oliver. I thought that you were a genius. You should've figured that out every time your eyes wandered toward the plate," Kim helpfully contributes, a way too sweet smile on her face. He has no idea why that woman hates him. Okay, he's called her husband a bore more than a few times, ancient on an almost daily basis, and has called her job useless. Maybe it's one of those reasons.

"Touche, Mrs. Hughes. Touche," he gives her an inch. It's Christmas, after all.

"So, what are your plans for the rest of the day, Luke?" Bob wonders.

"Well," Luke glances over at Reid. "We're off to my mom's Christmas party after this and then ..." Luke pauses and a look comes over his face. He recovers from it pretty quickly but Reid notices. "Then my dad's coming over, we're hanging ornaments, and probably watch my siblings make a mess of the living room." They all laugh except for Reid. Reid doesn't think that it's all that funny but he is thinking about Luke's look.

"I didn't agree to the party," Reid mentions as he takes a bite out of that slice of turkey leg.

"No, no, you didn't," Luke agrees with him. He says it without any real concern though so Reid can assume that that's not the reason for the look earlier. Now, it does concern him a little that Luke's not making a big deal out of him not wanting to go.

"Any objections to that, Dr. Snyder?" Bob curiously looks between the both of them. It's not really any of his business but they are having this conversation in front of their chief of staff and his wife.

"Dr. Oliver can do whatever it is that he wants to do. He should know by now that I'm not the type to pressuring him into doing anything that he doesn't want to do --" Reid interrupts with the most sarcastic cough that he can muster. "-- and he's an adult with his own mind and he's capable of making reasonable decisions on his own."

"That's very mature of you, Luke," Kim tells him while giving Reid what appears to be a glare.

The worst part about all of this is that Luke doesn't even seem sarcastic. He seems a little off but perfectly reasonable with his answer. Reid wants to ask if someone slipped him something but he holds his tongue for now. Well, he makes sure that there's a delicious piece of food in his mouth so that he can pretend that he's just holding his tongue. He doesn't want to bother starting anything if Luke doesn't want to share what's up with his attitude.

They're interrupted by a parent who wants to thank Luke. That mother is only one of many parents who line-up to thank Dr. Snyder for his brilliant idea.

"Thank you so much. Little Tommy looks so happy today."

"Dr. Snyder, our daughter is just stuffing herself with pumpkin pie. We love it!"

"Little Tommy loves the little gift bag that you gave. Can he hug you?"

Okay, Reid actually has no idea what any of them say to Luke because he's tuned them all out but he's sure that most of the praise sounds just like that. Happiness is all around them and they're all beaming at Luke like he's the second coming. Still, it is pretty impressive how Luke managed to make this all come together. Between Luke's regular rounds, stream of patients, having Reid's cock up his ass on a regular basis, and so forth, he wonders where Luke finds the time. He looks a little worn down but he's still happy, smiling, and animated as he speaks to everyone. Reid's never really known anyone like Luke and despite all these things that he's complaining about, ultimately, these are things that he happens to love about him too.

The lunch does conclude with little gift bags that Luke gives away to all the kids. With the help of other doctors (not him), nurses, and staff they begin to gather the bags together and that's Reid's cue to leave.

He tosses his plate into the garbage and just as he begins to look for Luke, he sees Mrs. Hilts and Matthew approach him first. Luke's smiling at him and leaning down to hug him. Reid's been checking up on him and according to the more than competent doctors on his patient file, he's perfectly fine. What's he doing in the hospital?

Reid approaches them all mid-hug and asks, "Problem here? Thought I wouldn't see you in the hospital again unless you fell down from a rough game of soccer or basketball or whatever." His comment is directed to Matthew who just smiles and dives in to hug Reid. Reid's hands stay up until he gets a nudge from Luke. He awkwardly hugs the kid and sends him back to his mother.

"Everything's fine. Things are more than fine," Mrs. Hilts tells him. "Dr. Snyder invited us. Really, thanks to you Dr. Oliver, Matthew's on his way to a full recovery. That's what Dr. Huang and Dr. Cashion told us. They got the tumor and Matthew's symptoms have cleared and he's feeling so much better."

"Yeah, thank you Dr. Oliver. I'll invite you to my first soccer game!" Matthew says enthusiastically. He's still wearing a baseball cap, his hair shaved because of the surgery but it's starting to grow in a little around the sides.

"Make sure there are sandwiches," Luke tells him and pats Reid's back as he focuses his attention on Matthew. "Come on you guys, there's still plenty of food so help yourselves. We're just giving away the gift bags now."

"Thanks again," Matthew says to Reid and Reid just nods in reply. His mother gives his arm a brief squeeze and then she follows her son to a table.

"A Christmas miracle," Luke speaks after they've left and Reid can't help but notice that his eyes are bright, beaming.

"I wouldn't call it that. More like the excellent proficiency of a staff of highly trained non-morons."

"I know you're not really into the Christmas thing but can you just, can't you," Luke doesn't finish his sentence and Reid waits for him to continue.

"What can't I?"

"No, never mind. I have gift bags to pass out. You don't want to come to the party so I guess I'll just see you later."

And just like that, Luke walks away from him even as Reid calls out his name. He heads to the table with the gift bags on it, gathering a few, and begins to distribute them to the different tables.

Reid has no idea what's up with Luke. He's so hot and cold today and it's kind of driving Reid crazy.

He really does have some work to do though so he heads back to his office to look over a few patient charts.

Unfortunately, he can't read any of them because he can't get that idiotic (but incredibly hot) pediatrician out of his head. He tries. He reads about the subdural hematoma on the patient he had last week and the woman with the cerebral contusion.

When he looks at his watch, he sees that the event in the cafeteria has ended a few hours ago, and everyone's long gone by now.

He sighs to himself and folds his hands together, thinking.

After about two seconds of doing that, he takes out his cell phone to see no voicemails or text messages. Then, he puts it back into his pocket.

There's activity outside of his office. A hospital never shuts down but it is a little quieter than usual and quieter than he thought it would be. Holidays are when the freak accidents happen but he hasn't been paged by the emergency room.

All he can really think about is Luke and he can't even concentrate on these charts. Why isn't he with Luke at that party other than the act that he really doesn't like being at those parties at all. But, isn't it worth it just to be with Luke and see that blinding smile of his directed toward him? Reid even finds himself smiling as he thinks about it.

All right. That's it. It's time to put an end to this.

Grabbing his keys, quickly yanking on his coat, he leaves the hospital determined to get to the bottom of Luke's crazy mood that is driving him crazy by default.

He heads directly to the house, ashamed that he even remembers where it is but he blames his excellent memory for that. There are already cars in the driveway and he doesn't even check to see if Luke's is there.

He gets out, marching toward the house. The door's already open for visitors. People are spread throughout the house, talking, holding their drinks, laughing, the kids are running around, the Christmas tree is up and lit, and there's Luke standing right beside it.

"Doctor --" Lily begins to say something to him but it's all white noise.

He goes straight to Luke who's looking more than surprised to see him here. The entire room is paying close attention to the both of them, all eyes on him to see what he's going to do. He wants to ask Luke what's wrong. He wants to know why can't even finish a sentence in front of him today when he's usually running at the mouth. He has more than a few things to ask him.

Instead, he grabs the back of Luke's neck, and plants a kiss on his lips.

It definitely takes Luke by surprise and he's tense at first before he just melts into it, returning the kiss, and bringing his hand up to cup Reid's neck in his palm. If there are murmurs of disapproval or approval, he doesn't hear them. The only thing that he see and hear is Luke ... and if that isn't the cheesiest thing that he's ever thought, he isn't sure what is.

When they pull away, Reid's eyes stay shut for a moment longer, opening them to see Luke's beaming smile. That's exactly why he drove like a bat out of hell to get here.

"Geez, Doc. Tell him how you really feel," he hears that comment come from somewhere but he doesn't turn to look to see where it comes from.

Amidst the laughter, Luke shakes his head and says to him, "You drive me crazy. You know that, Dr. Oliver?"

"I'm glad I'm not the only one, Dr. Snyder," Reid smiles back at him and it's like they're the only two people in the room.

He's here, Luke's here and smiling at him, he's just kissed the hell out of him in front of his entire family. All in all, he considers it a much improved party already.


	15. Chapter 15

Yeah, it's the beginning of a great party until the comments keep coming.

"All right, boys. Go get a room. But, you're expected back here in 10 minutes so don't get any ideas into your head. There are children present."

"Mother!" Lily exclaims, looking so scandalized by Lucinda's words.

Reid just snickers and Luke takes him by the hand, leading him into another room so that they can get some privacy.

Luke's fingers lace through his and he considers that a very good sign. After all, they can do a lot in 10 minutes. But as soon as Luke closes the door, he has a look on his face that tells him they aren't going to be fooling around in the time that they have.

Before he says anything, he leans in for another kiss, several more kisses, and then he forces himself to pull away.

They're in the guest bedroom so Luke leads him to the bed and takes a seat on it, urging Reid to sit beside him so that they're facing each other.

"Thanks for coming," is the first thing that Luke says to him.

"Yeah, well, I kinda didn't have a choice. I couldn't concentrate on anything at work with that look on your face."

"What look?"

"You were telling Bob and Kim what you were gonna do for the rest of the day and you said the party and then you just stopped. You stopped talking and you looked like someone ran over your favorite pet hamster or goldfish or whatever pet you may have had as a kid."

"I had a mouse once?"

"Fine, mouse. It looked like someone ran over your pet mouse. Why? What were you gonna tell them?"

Luke chuckles, looking down at their hands still together, and he shakes his head. "I can't believe that that's what was bothering you and that's what you remember."

Reid shrugs his shoulders. That comment still doesn't provide any kind of an answer.

Luke lifts his head and looks back at him again. "I was gonna tell them that we were going to my mom's party and then afterward, we'd go home, and I don't know. I stopped. That thought stopped me from saying anything more. I thought of your place as home and I thought of it as ours because I've been spending so much time there. Look what I did last night. I bought a Christmas tree because I realized that we didn't have one. But, I didn't even ask whether or not you even wanted one."

"Luke --"

"No, I'm making too many assumptions about our relationship. I'm at your place like almost every single day and I don't even know how you feel about that. I remember the first time that I moved into an apartment with Noah, he was gone so much that I could do whatever I wanted in it, and I just started thinking of it as my place. I said that if I was ever in another serious relationship then I'd ... and I just called it a serious relationship."

"Hey, would you --"

"And I don't even know if that's how you think of us and what you think about what's going on. That's why I don't want to pressure you into coming to my family parties because if you really don't wanna go then I don't want to be the guy to pressure you into it for whatever reason. I don't want you to think I'll get mad that you're not here because I won't. It's not your thing and I get that and I might get a little upset but --"

"Luke!" Reid yells to get his attention. Luke finally stops talking. "Let's back up a bit here, okay?" He may be a genius and world renowned neurosurgeon but most of that information makes his head spin. "So, you didn't keep talking because you said that you were going to go home and you don't think of it as home?"

"No, the problem is that I think of _your_ place as home."

"And ... what's wrong with that?" Reid is not seeing where the problem is. Luke is there almost every single day and he spends way more time there than he ever does at his mom's place.

"Well, you ... that's not a problem? You haven't asked me to move in."

"Oh, you want me to ask you to move in?"

"No, no, you should feel like you want to ask me to move in."

"Okay, move in."

Luke says nothing but then he bites his lower lip, "Really?"

"Wouldn't have asked if I didn't want it. Luke, look, you're already practically living there. All you need to do is move the rest of your stuff over to make it official. And if I'd minded then I would've said something earlier. But, waking up next to a hot blond every morning is not something that I really plan on complaining about." Luke blushes a little and Reid smiles a little when he sees it. "Okay, so that's all taken care of. What else is bugging you?"

"I do want you to say if something is bothering you. If you didn't want me to get the tree, if you don't want to come to my family's holiday parties, if you don't want to attend the hospital gatherings, I want you to tell me that. I don't want to feel like I'm pushing you into doing something. I mean, I'm sure I've done it subconsciously but if you don't want to go then don't feel like you have to be there for me."

Reid gives Luke's hand a squeeze, opening his mouth to speak, and closing it as he thinks about what he wants to say. When he's gathered his thoughts, he looks at Luke to make sure that he has his full attention. "Listen. I'll probably only say all of this once so listen closely." Luke looks so serious and attentive that Reid holds back some laughter, but he goes on. "Most of those things? I didn't want them. I don't like social gatherings because that involves small talk and I think that small talk is pointless. I don't like trees because I never really had Christmas trees growing up so I'm not used to having them around like you are. And, finally, your family's insane and I don't know how you managed to make it out of there unscathed."

"Reid," Luke chuckles, smiling only briefly before he puts on his serious face again.

"But," Reid goes on. "When you're around? None of those things are so bad. No, okay, your family's still a nightmare except for Lucinda. But, the parties and the events that you're putting on for the kiddies? Tolerable when you're there."

Luke gives him a small smile and has an expression on his face that tells him absolutely everything. "I gotta admit, I love that you're there for those things. I love seeing you there. I love being able to wander over to you when you're looking bored out of your mind and tolerating everything. I love you, Reid."

That's something that Reid never wants to hear him stop saying. As much as he feels for Luke, he likes knowing that it's returned. It's an all encompassing feeling and those words are the cherry on the top of the delicious sundae.

"I love you too," he responds, the words come just a little easier every time. He doesn't often let sentimentality get the best of him but that's just another little trait that Dr. Snyder is responsible for. He makes him drop all of his defenses, all of his metaphorical walls as they say, and the words come tumbling out.

They're about to kiss when there's a loud knock on the door.

"I said 10 minutes!"

"Coming!" Luke laughs and brings his hand up to cup the back of Reid's neck, his thumb moving over the curls of Reid's hair.

"Well, not yet but maybe later," Reid speaks, his voice dripping with innuendo.

"You got that right, Dr. Oliver." Luke's tone of voice makes Reid's eyebrows shoot up, so confident and sure that Reid's cock begins to twitch. It doesn't help that when Luke leans in to kiss him, he gently nips his lower lip, taking it into his mouth to suck on, and then giving him a kiss that makes his hair stand on edge.

When Luke pulls away from the kiss, Reid is still sitting there with his mouth hanging open.

"We're leaving soon, right?" he says when he manages to speak.

"Um, soon enough."

That isn't much of a definitive answer and Reid grunts his disapproval. Luke laughs at his pain and takes his hand again to walk out and face the crowd, the same crowd that watched him lay one on a member of their beloved family.

It's only silent for a few seconds when Lucinda says, "Don't worry, Dr. Oliver. They've just never seen anyone so openly affectionate to our dear Luke." Then she turns to the room and declares, "The boy's almost 30. I think that we can deal with the fact that he's obviously in a very happy relationship and has a very active s --"

"Mom," Lily interrupts. "We know and we're all very happy for Luke and Dr. Oliver. But, could you tone it down to PG levels in front of the kids?" Lily looks so put upon and frazzled while she attempts to censor the things that her mother says. That's why Reid adores Lucinda.

"And yet Emma allowed them to break her rule of sleeping under the same roof in her home and I heard a little story about the children being there in the morning," Lucinda makes an exaggerated gesture and Reid looks over at Luke to see that he's as red as a beet.

"They're grown men, Lucinda," Emma says though she's clearly a little embarrassed remembering what had happened the morning after. "The rules can be twisted a little."

"Your grandmothers love you," Reid says under his breath to Luke.

"I am an exception. I think that they just like having a doctor under the roof."

"Or two," Reid murmurs.

Then, the Snyder/Walsh festivities begin. There's something about ornaments and then there's an appetizer (Reid has four of them) and finally they conclude with a great feast that's been prepared by a chef. Everything is first class and delicious. But, Emma needs to have her way and makes sure to bring plenty of pies and cookies. Reid takes the large piece of the pie and several cookies before passing along the plate.

Okay, there's one thing to be said about these little get togethers. The food is excellent. That's really all that matters. There's the food and a smiling, happy Luke Snyder beside him. Okay, that's all that really matters in the end.

He has no idea when he became this sentimental, dare he say it, romantic twit. But, he doesn't think it's half-bad. There's so much to gain and nothing that he's lost ... except his mind, obviously, at this easy acceptance. He should just accept it. These months with Dr. Luke Snyder are the happiest he's ever been.

Yeah, that's all that matters.

\---

After receiving tons of leftovers, they eventually make it back to the apartment. Luke's mother made a feeble attempt to get him to stay but she knows that he's staying with Reid and she probably knows that that's where he's going to be from now on. Luke didn't say a word to her, not on Christmas Eve, but he'll tell her soon.

Luke takes a look around the room and flips the light switch. The lights in the living room turn on and they're wired to the tree so the lights around the tree are on. The tree's pretty tasteful. He'd been afraid that Luke would go all out on it but it's tastefully decorated and provides the room with a nice, white glow.

"You're not thinking about redecorating, are you?" Reid jokes, popping another cookie into his mouth before he puts them away in the kitchen.

"No, nothing like that."

"Then, what?" Reid mumbles, still chewing on the cookie.

"Just, uh," he leaves the room and Reid watches him, seeing him come back with a wrapped box.

"Luke," he starts to protest.

"I know. We didn't really talk about the present thing and I just assumed that you weren't going to give me one since I know how you feel about Christmas. But, I really wanted to get you something. So," he trails and places the box on top of the kitchen counter.

After finishing the cookie, Reid takes the box, and brings it into the living room. Luke follows him and they take a seat on the couch together. Reid's still holding the box and Luke's looking nervous and excited and Reid knows just the thing to send him straight over the edge of that excitement.

"Hold on," Reid grumbles, putting the box on the coffee table. He goes into the bedroom, pulling out a present of his own that he's managed to keep hidden for the past week.

The second he walks back into the room and Luke sees it, he's hit by that giant smile that goes from ear to ear. Reid can't help but smile back at him. He doesn't know how Luke manages to make him do that because of one smile. One really great smile.

"Reid!" Luke exclaims, finding his voice again when Reid takes a seat beside him. He wraps his arms around him and kisses him on the cheek before he kisses his lips, lingering there for a moment but a smile breaks out mid-kiss. "I can't believe you got me something."

"Yeah, I pegged you for a Christmas guy the second I saw you."

They exchange gifts and Luke looks at him, clearly wanting him to go first. "My heart's about to jump outta my chest. Can you just open it?" he asks.

Reid laughs and starts to unwrap the paper, careful of any edges that'll even give him a finger cut. He has to protect his livelihood. When he opens the gift, he finds the large box is because inside is a new, leather briefcase with his initials on it.

"Luke," he tries to say, admiring the finish and the way that the leather feels underneath his fingertips.

"Is it, I mean, I know that you must love the one that you have since you brought it from Dallas but this could be for home or --"

"Luke, I love it. Thank you." New briefcase, new life, new start to the new year here in Oakdale.

Reid brings his hand up to cup Luke's face and leans in for a kiss. When they pull away, Luke shyly ducks his head. Reid believes that Luke's ability to accept a compliment of any kind, has been compromised by terrible exes, one in particular. It's time to put that on the mend.

"Now, you," Reid motions toward his gift for Luke.

Luke smiles as he opens it, looking very much like a kid on Christmas morning. Instead, it's Christmas evening and he's not exactly getting a gift from Santa Claus. But, Reid's up for roleplaying that fantasy. Reid as Santa. Luke as an elf. Reid with a whip in his hand and Luke's penchant for a little bit of pain could be great fun.

He snaps out of it just in time to watch Luke see his gift. He opens the wooden box, custom made thank you very much, and inside is a stationary set with Dr. Luke Snyder written in the letterhead. Underneath that is the name of the hospital and he's chosen a generic but very fancy design to complement the script used for Luke's name.

"See, 'cause you wrote me all those scribbled notes in the packages to bribe me into coming to the parties and you told me you used to write so ..."

Luke places the box on the coffee table and before Reid can ask what he's doing, Luke lunges at him, pressing his lips to Reid's and pushing him back on the couch. They both laugh and when Luke speaks, there's a hitch in his throat. "Thank you," he whispers.

"I think that I should've gotten you a fancy pen, too. Maybe you would've stripped me naked by now."

Luke laughs again and Reid's hand tenderly moves through his hair as they look at one another. "Thank you," Luke says once more and Reid doesn't joke this time. Instead, he pulls him close, and they kiss.

They hear the crinkle of the discarded wrapping paper underneath their bodies as they move, Reid shifting underneath Luke to position himself on the couch.

Clothes are gone in a matter of minutes, both of them kissing as they remove each piece.

Luke's ends up riding Reid hard, so hard that when they come, Reid sees stars in his eyes. It's a bright flash behind his eyelids, pleasure shooting through him, his fingertips holding on to Luke's waist as they come to a slow halt together.

When Reid opens his eyes, he can't tell if the light that's reflecting off of Luke's body comes from the lights on the Christmas tree or the lights he saw as he came.

Luke eases himself down on top of him, Reid's arms circling around him to hold him close, tight. He presses a kiss to Luke's hair, his temple, and Luke lifts his head to kiss him. They kiss slow and sweet until Luke rests his head against Reid's chest once again. Reid's sure Luke's able to hear the steady thump of his heart where he rests. It's a calm, steady beat, definitive of how Reid feels in this moment.

 _This_ is all that matters.


	16. Chapter 16

Five months pass with a few notable incidents. Luke’s completely moved in by the beginning of January and that is the beginning of their life together. Sometimes they see each other and sometimes they don’t but they end up in the same bed almost every night, save those days when Reid’s in long surgeries. Those days and nights, Luke makes sure the fridge is well stocked for sandwich making purposes. After the surgeries, Reid always sleeps for several hours and he wakes up to everything he needs in the fridge.

Luke is starting on a 9-5 schedule. He cuts down on the hours that he’s available outside of work and he’s actually delegated some work to other pediatricians on staff. Reid doesn’t have the luxury of that kind of schedule but he’s glad to see Luke isn’t the workaholic he once was. Running on that kind of steam, running himself ragged had been affecting his health. He had been too busy taking care of everyone else to realize he had been run-down. It took one hospitalization to get him to slow down. That had been the most terrifying 48 hours of Reid’s life. He hopes to never relive it.

It’s March and Oakdale is mostly peaceful. There had been an incident with a kidnapping had everyone in town involved somehow, even Reid. But, he supposes that’s par for the course when it comes to living in Crazy Town, USA.

Katie had stopped seeing Chris Hughes but she started seeing another doctor in the hospital so she still hangs around and even managed to talk her way into Reid’s life. They’re meeting for lunch and she’s already there when he arrives.

“About time,” she says when she sees him.

“I am on time. You’re the one who always gets everywhere obnoxiously early.”

“I’m a reporter. I need to be everywhere before anyone else.”

He just raises his eyebrows and takes a seat across from her, glancing down at the menu. He already knows what he wants but he checks the menu anyway.

“So, Luke doing okay?” The hospitalization happened fairly recently and news travels at the speed of light around these parts.

“Back at work this week already,” he tells her. “Couldn’t keep him away from the tikes.” He smiles a little thinking about all the get well cards the little smurfs made for him. The nurses helped to tape all of them into his office so he’d be surrounded them when he came back. Luke’s smile was so bright it busted a few of the surrounding lights.

“And you’re happy he’s working again because that means that he’s better. Look at you smiling. You’re so obvious, Dr. Oliver.”

“You need to stop living in a gay romance novel.”

The waitress comes around to take their orders and Reid gets his usual while Katie gets her usual tasteless meal.

“But, seriously, are you okay, Reid?” She puts on her concerned face. It’s one he remembers well when Luke was in the hospital bed. He’d stayed there all night, refusing to allow anyone to send him home. Luke was just sleeping and not in critical condition but he felt better just being in the same room with him. Katie had come in to talk to him and he admits it made him feel a little better at the time.

“Fine,” he responds after a moment. “I’m sending him home at 5 on the dot. A minute later and who knows what kind of emergency this town can come up with to keep him at work. After 5, Dr. Henson is the attending pediatrician and Luke just has to deal with it.”

“How is he dealing with it?”

Reid knows Luke’s dealing with it as best as he can, putting on a brave face for everyone he encounters but that isn’t the Luke has at home. There are a lot of insecurities running through him, afraid another hospitalization will happen, afraid his kidney may not last, worried people may not trust a sick doctor with their sick child. No matter what Reid says, he can see the worry on Luke’s face. But, Luke doesn’t let those worries stop him. He was up this morning and at work before 9.

“I’ll find out this afternoon.”

To distract him, Katie starts to talk about something else while they eat their lunch. Reid’s due back at the hospital in an hour so they just finish their meals and part ways, heading back to work.

Reid tries to pretend he’s heading toward the pediatric ward for some real, legitimate reason but he really has no reason other than to check on Luke. There are some kids out in the waiting room with their parents, a full waiting room. Well, at least Luke’s fears about not taking their kids to a sick doctor can be assuaged.

Luke comes out into the waiting room to speak to a parent and he’s smiling. That’s a good sign. The other parents in the room are eager to greet him, shaking his hand, smiling when they see him. Reid smiles a little too and then he turns around to head back to his own side of the hospital.

Three patients later, he sees Luke rounding the corner into his office. Reid looks down at his watch, almost 5. Right on time.

“Dr. Snyder, do you have an appointment?” Reid asks seriously.

“Har har,” Luke replies, walking past him, and into the office. Reid closes the door behind him and pulls him toward the couch, taking a seat beside him. “Saw you checking up on me today.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“So, that wasn’t you standing in the hallway watching me talk to those parents? Oh, well, in that case, you have a very hot clone wandering around the hallway. Let’s have a threesome.”

“Ooh. Count me in.” Luke playfully hits Reid’s chest with his free hand, the other still holding on to Reid’s hand. “I just wanted to see whether or not you were milking the sympathy of those parents or not. You could make anyone do anything with those big, brown eyes of yours.”

“I convinced them I was okay with my big, brown eyes. I hate that they look at me like that. That … you’re going to be okay, buck up, kind of look.”

“So, you want them to wish you harm?”

“Reid,” Luke scolds quickly but then he goes on. “I just thought I was in the clear from those looks. People used to look at me like that all the time. This town is so small that people just knew when something was wrong. It was like everyone knew my mom was getting married to Keith because he was the guy that got me my kidney. It was like everyone knew Damian wanted to send me away to make me straight. It was like everyone knew I was stuck in a dead-end relationship with Noah. It's like they know, just like they think I'm sick now because I was in the hospital."

"Luke, you were there because you passed out in the hallway. You were dehydrated, you were dizzy, and you needed rest." Reid says all of this as if it didn't worry the hell out of him when it was all happening. "If anyone begrudges you that then you can let them know they're morons."

Reid separates from him, standing up to walk over to his desk. He gathers some files together to put into his briefcase. He doesn't like thinking about these things. It puts him right back into that hospital room, worrying about Luke, having the same worries and fears Luke has now.

Luke comes up behind him and places his hand against Reid's shoulder. Reid turns to look at him, Luke giving him a small smile. "Well, that's what I have you for, right? You can tell everyone they're idiots so I don't have to do it."

"And I will," Reid points a finger, tapping Luke's chest a couple times with it.

"I know you will," Luke makes no attempt to hide his amused grin.

"Go home. Rest."

"Come with me."

Reid entertains the idea, briefly. But, he has some work to catch up on. He doesn't have anything scheduled for the rest of the day but he really shouldn't leave. "I don't think I can." He's looking at Luke and he knows Luke's about to allow him to stay here when Reid opens his mouth to speak. "Let me just talk to Bob for a minute. Stay in here. I'll be back."

Luke nods and Reid walks off in search of Bob Hughes. The man usually wanders around at this time of day, checking on the different departments unless he has something more pressing to do. He finds him walking toward the double doors that lead to surgery when he turns. Reid catches his attention.

"Dr. Oliver. May I help you with something?"

"Yeah, I need to take off today. I was supposed to have those papers signed and ready for you but I --"

"Reid," Bob comes closer and clasps Reid's shoulder, one of those firm, fatherly grips. Well, Reid thinks it's fatherly. He really doesn't remember how fatherly grips go. "Go home and take care of Luke."

"I'd get him a nurse if he needed to be taken care of. I just wanna go home and kick back with a beer. Thanks, boss." Reid flashes him a smile and then he heads back to his office. He doesn't turn around but he knows there's a ... fond smile on Bob's face. Bob's just let him go for the night so he doesn't both rolling his eyes in front of the man in charge.

When he returns to his office, Luke's sitting on the edge of Reid's desk, and all ready to go. "Let's go, Dr. Snyder. I've been relieved of all duties."

"Except your duty to me," Luke says confidently. Reid gives him his best glare and Luke kisses him sweetly. Okay, that's just playing dirty.

Reid just groans and starts to gather his things. Luke looks satisfied all the way back to their place.

\---

Several days later, and for the first time in weeks, Reid beats Luke home. He has some articles he's working on and he needs some time to work on them. Doing it in a busy hospital won't help. So, he's at home, sitting at the table, and typing on his laptop.

When he hears his phone ring, he sighs, and he considers not answering it. When he glances at the screen, he sees it's Luke, and picks it up on the third ring. "Hey," he answers, still typing away, not wanting to lose his train of thought.

"Hi, can you come back to the hospital?"

"Are you okay?" Reid's thoughts first go to Luke.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's Matt. His vision's problems have recurred. It's worse than it was before. I didn't want to contact anyone without contacting you first so you can call the rest of the team." The rest of the team have already gone back to their respective places of business, their own clinics, their own hospitals. There are only so many times he can call in favors.

"I'll be right there."

"Okay, thanks."

"Luke," he quickly says his name before he hangs up.

"Yeah?"

"Stay relaxed. I don't want you getting worked up about this. It could be nothing. Just finish your rounds and wait for me, okay?"

"I'll be all right," Luke sighs. "Just get here soon, please." To Reid, Luke already sounds tired. He's probably overexerting himself.

"All right."

They hang up and Reid grabs his things, getting into his car, and driving straight to the hospital. He pushes on the pedal a little harder and he knows it's worry for Luke and not Matthew that drives the action.

When Reid arrives, he doesn't stop into the locker area. He walks into his office and pulls on his lab coat, taking his stethoscope, cell phone in pocket, Matthew's old files, and he goes to find Luke. He asks a nurse where he can find Matthew Hilts and walks down the hallway.

Before entering the room, he pauses to look through the glass window, and he sees Luke sitting with Mrs. Hilts, Matthew's already been admitted, and he's in the hospital bed. There's no doubt in Reid's mind Luke's already checked him out himself to the best of his abilities.

Reid walks in and sighs heavily, "You again? Didn't we fix you?"

"Hey, Dr. Oliver," Matt smiles in his direction but it's obvious he can't really see he's there. He's sort of squinting and trying to make him out.

"Hey, so, someone clue me in."

Luke hands him a new chart. He's done all the basics and they're waiting for the blood results. Reid wants to do another scan immediately. In the meantime, he does a few tests to check his reflexes to see how his brain is coordinating with the rest of him. The initial exam worries Reid but he tries not to let it show.

Luke's there for the whole thing and he knows he's worried enough for the both of them.

After the initial tests, Reid pulls Luke outside to talk to him. "I can see it in your face," Luke says.

"I don't really know anything until I get those tests back but yeah. There's something going on and if it is what I think it is then it ..." he looks through the glass to see Matthew speaking to his mother. "It isn't good," Reid concludes. "We don't know anything until we get the tests back. Now, I'm going to stay here and wait for them but it's past 5, you're done with your rounds, and I want you to go home."

"Reid --"

"Luke, it wasn't too long ago you were here too. I know you think you're Superman and you can get out of bed and be back up to speed because you want to keep working but you need to take it easy. It's your first week back."

Luke looks like he's ready to argue but he holds himself back. That must take some effort. "Okay but you call me or text me with the results. I want to know. I'm his primary physician and if anything happens then I want to be the one to contact the different pediatric specialists."

Luke's really hot when he's using his hierarchy for good. But he keeps the thought to himself because he knows Luke will find it wildly inappropriate. "You'll be the first call I make."

"Thanks," Luke gives him another little smile and then turns around to go back to his office.

After watching him leave, making sure he's heading in the direction of his office, he gets back to work on Matt. He takes him for a scan and then awaits the results. He takes the x-rays and looks at them under better light. When he sees the small growth, he sighs. It's what he expected but seeing it here in front of him gives him a different feeling.

It feels a hell of a lot like failure and disappointment. After all the time and effort he and his team put into Matthew Hilts, they still managed to fail him. Reid's admired the brain for so long. He loves everything about it, the mysteries, the complexities, the way it creates and controls. But, there are flaws because nothing is perfect and sometimes the brain does things no one can understand. No one can predict diseases and illnesses in the body or recurring cancers in kids that should never occur in the first place.

They do the tests late into the night and the results come even later. Matthew and his mother are asleep by the time he goes into the room to check on them so he decides to go home.

Reid's quiet when he walks into the apartment, taking off his shoes, and putting his briefcase down without making a sound. Luke nearly gives him a heart attack when he sees him sitting on the couch. Reid would be worried if he were still dressed but Luke's in a pair of boxers and a t-shirt.

"Jesus, Luke," he briefly closes his eyes, rubbing a finger over the bridge of his nose before walking toward the couch.

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep."

"You are entitled to one lecture-free evening from me because it's so late and I'm tired," he removes his jacket and hangs it up before he goes to sit down next to Luke.

Luke's looking at him like he's waiting for the news. Reid can't spend that much time in the hospital and not have anything to tell him. After all the worrying and caution Reid's thrown at him lately, he really shouldn't add to it. But, this is Luke's profession and Reid has to think of him as a colleague even when they live underneath the same roof.

"His cancer's returned and it's more aggressive than before. It's attacked and it's attacked quickly."

Luke has the worst poker face and Reid can see the emotions take over.

"The chances of this happening are extremely rare. To have it come back and come back this quickly and it's already done some damage."

"Wha ... what's going to happen to him?" Luke asks, clearing his throat but speaking quietly.

"I don't know yet. I don't know what the best course of action is," Reid rubs the back of his neck as he looks down at their coffee table. "We can contact his specialists and discuss the options."

"Reid." The way Luke says his name makes him pay attention and he turns to meet his gaze. "Be honest with me." Reid can't remember a time he hasn't been honest with Luke. "What are his chances of getting through this?"

Reid considers what to say, actually taking the time to think about it first before he says it. He rarely does it and he knows he wouldn't do it for everyone. Luke's the exception. Right now, he can't think of him as a colleague or a medical professional. He's speaking to Luke.

"I'm not sure if he's going to make it through this, Luke."

"Oh," Luke releases a breath and nods. "I mean, I thought so. You weren't saying anything and you wouldn't tell me much and you've been -- you've been away all night."

"Luke, shh," Reid makes a grab for him before he starts to lose it. He wraps his arms around him and holds him tightly. Reid hears him take in a quick breath and then release a quiet, shaky one. Reid's hand presses firmly to Luke's back, keeping him steady, and making him feel as safe as he can.

To no one's surprise, Reid isn't a hugger. He can probably count the number of times he's willingly hugged anyone and even with Luke, they don't do it often or at all. Tonight, Reid will hug Luke, hold on to him, and comfort him for as long as he wants.


	17. Chapter 17

Reid remembers how it felt to lose his very first patient and Luke's chosen field isn't one that has a high statistical number of fatalities. A kid doesn't normally go get a check-up and die the following day. Rarely. But, this is the first patient Luke's seen from beginning to symptoms to diagnosis.

The reality of it hits Luke hard but it's a face that he only shows at home. At the hospital, he's professional, and he keeps it together. Reid's more than impressed by Luke's demeanor. Well, he's impressed and concerned, not wanting Luke to spontaneously combust because of everything that he's holding in.

Reid's been watching him carefully until one day at lunch Luke says to him over his orange jello cup, "I'm all right. You don't have to watch me like a hawk."

"Maybe I just like looking at you. You think about that?"

"I know what you look like when you like looking at me and those aren't the looks that you're giving me. Frankly, it's a little unnerving so can you just focus your attention elsewhere?" Reid won't but Luke doesn't really need to know that. "What's going on with Matt? I see that they gave him his own room."

That statement surprises Reid. They haven't really talked about the kid much. After Luke's reaction, Reid thought it was best just to keep the information to a minimum if Luke asks but he hasn't asked. Luke even left it to him to contact the other doctors who had been involved with his case despite what he'd said to him before he found out about Reid's conclusive tests.

"You didn't ask when you were in there?"

"Well, I just saw on the list in our department. I didn't go in there," Luke's poking at the jello now, staring at it like it's the most fascinating thing in the world.

"And why haven't you?"

"I'm just not ready, Reid. Can we talk about something else?"

"It just doesn't seem like you. I thought you'd be running over there or at the very least asking me about the team that I've regrouped. Fortunately, everyone's available and they'll be here soon. I'm working my ass off so that that --"

"And what part of me asking you to talk about something else did you not understand?" Luke stands up abruptly, leaving his food behind, and walking out of Reid's office.

Reid sighs and reaches for Luke's untouched sandwich. He does briefly consider consuming it himself but instead, he asks Jaymie to deliver it to Luke's office. No need to neglect his health because he's having ... Reid doesn't know what to call this. All he knows is that Luke is dealing with this potential loss in his way.

It isn't a loss yet and despite Reid's original grim conclusion, he believes that there's a modicum of hope. It's going to be tough but if all the factors work in their favor then the kid could come out of this. It's something that he didn't say to Luke. False hope isn't what Luke needs to hear right now. But, as long as everything aligns, and the kid gets the best treatment, he might make it through this.

It's a long shot but it's a shot.

Reid quickly finishes the rest of his lunch and then gets to work.

\---

"It's not impossible to remove but are you willing to take this risk, Reid?" Dr. Huang is looking at the new x-rays again and rubbing his temple. "It's dangerously close to some key areas and he's a child. It would affect his developmental stages."

"Isn't that better than him not going through those stages at all? Isn't life the better alternative than death?" Reid argues.

"Talk about these options with Matthew and his mother, Dr. Oliver. Ultimately, it's their decision and we can't push them one way or the other."

"I hate that ridiculous rule," Reid mutters as he scratches the x-rays away from his colleague's hands.

"It's more than a rule, Dr. Oliver. It's an oath and we've taken it."

"Don't need the reminder, Pete," he says as he pulls up another chart with some additional blood work that he's ordered.

Dr. Huang has been in Oakdale for less than a day when Reid brings him straight to Memorial to get to work, wanting him to look over every detail in Matthew's file including all the new tests and x-rays that he's ordered in the past couple of days.

"Reid, you've dealt with cases like this before. But, you've been going above and beyond. I know that you're a dedicated doctor and I've always admired you for that but why this kid?"

Reid likes Dr. Huang. He never socializes, he's completely professional, and he's not an idiot. In fact, he's one of the smartest men that he knows and it takes a lot for him to admit that there's someone else whose genius surpasses his own. He's incredible at what he does and he gives a crap about his patients. That's rare in a human being and it's rare to find a doctor that cares more about people than a paycheck. Luke's just like him. Unsurprisingly, he and Luke got along very well the last time Dr. Huang had been in town to perform Matt's initial surgery.

Luke comes to mind when he asks the question but it's about more than doing Luke a favor. Sure, he's taken on the case because of Luke. Reid doesn't want to disappoint him. Ultimately, this is about Matthew. Reid doesn't like to fail and if gathering some of the best pediatric minds in the country is going to save one child then that's what he's going to do.

He has a feeling that Huang knows all of this but maybe he's wondering why this case deserves his lack of snark.

"I'm not gonna fail him," Reid wonders if he's talking about Luke or Matthew. "He deserves the best care regardless of who he is. If he invented some indestructible form of metal or scored a 1600 on his SATs --"

"I think it's 2,400 now."

"-- everyone deserves to be treated equally. Kid deserves a chance as much as anyone else."

"And we'll make sure that he gets that chance," Dr. Huang says to reassure him.

"You think he has a shot?" Luke comes into the doctor's lounge, still in his lab coat. It's a little past 7 o'clock and this is the last place that he expected Luke to turn up.

"Luke," Reid tries to ask him why he's here and why he isn't at home but Luke interrupts him.

"Was there something that you saw on the x-rays that hadn't been there before you told me about the tests?" Luke looks at Reid and walks over to the table in the middle of the room, taking a seat to join the conversation.

Reid glances over at Pete and then back at Luke. "Pete thinks that the tumor can be removed," Luke hides nothing, a hopeful smile appearing on his face. "But, it's pressing close to areas that make the operation difficult and complicated. It's a risk to do but we're going to present them to Matt and his mother, giving them their options."

"This is a good sign though, right? Before you hadn't thought that it was operable and now it is."

"It might be," Reid doesn't want him to get his hopes up and now they're shooting to the sky. "Luke, there are a lot of complications that can arise from this type of procedure. We're hopeful but everything depends on how he's going to come out of this after the surgery. That's not something that we can determine right now."

Luke looks between them both and sits up a little straight in his chair. "If you both don't mind, I'd like to be there while you're discussing this with them." That's not something that Reid wants. Luke is friends with Mrs. Hilts and she'll see that spark in his eyes, the tone of his voice, and she'll trust and believe in him. Reid doesn't want that responsibility on Luke's shoulders. He's already taking this pretty hard.

"I don't think that that's a good idea," Reid has to be honest with him.

"Why not?" Luke already looks upset but this time, his anger is directed toward Reid.

"I don't want her looking into your eyes, seeing that optimism there that you just seem to carry around with you everywhere, and think that everything's going to be fine. Because, worst case scenario, what if everything doesn't turn out the way that you want it to? You have to be objective about this."

"I am being objective about this and I am still his primary physician. I have been treating that boy through his symptoms and I think that I have a right as his doctor to be there when you're discussing whether or not he might live with the surgery or die without it."

"Luke, you're too close to this. You're too close to them. You react to them emotionally rather than logically and that isn't gonna help when we're talking to them. They're going to keep looking at you, reacting to your reactions."

"Reid, what is this about? Since when do you think that I'm completely incompetent and incapable of being logical and stepping back to see this patient with an impartial --"

"Because you're not impartial!" Reid looks at him, completely blown away by Luke's statements.

Peter Huang pushes his chair back and reaches for his jacket. "This is between the two of you. Luke, Reid, I'll be in the guest office when you need me." He gathers the files and then leaves the two of them alone in the room. No one else is in there except for the two of them.

"Reid, you can't shut me out of this."

"I'm not shutting you out. You're shutting yourself out."

Luke makes an exasperated sound, tilting his head back, and sighing heavily before leaning on the table. "I can be objective, Reid. Just because I connect with my patients doesn't mean that I can't detach myself when the situation calls for it."

"When has the situation ever called for it? You told me yourself that you've never had to deal with a case like Matt's before. Not only is this the first time you are dealing with it, you're close to the family." Reid leans forward on the table and folds his hands together, averting his gaze to the table. "You don't know what it's like to deliver the worst news that a parent can ever hear. They start to cry, they scream, they wail, they want to take it out on you for telling them." Reid hates talking about this. He never talks about this.

"Reid," Luke's tone changes and Reid knows that he's no longer thinking of Matt. He's thinking about what Reid goes through.

Leaning down, Reid picks up his briefcase, and opens one of the pockets inside. He takes out the several photographs that he keeps and shows them to Luke. Reid's never told him about them. It's never come up until now.

"What are these?" he asks as he slowly flips through each one of them.

"Those are the patients that I've lost." Luke stops flipping and meets his gaze before he looks back down. "Not all of them. Just the ones that have ... that have made me react." That's the best way to put it. "If only I'd done this or if only I'd done that or seen a tumor earlier then they would be alive. He would be playing college football and she would be graduating from culinary school." Luke pauses on a child that's around Matt's age and Reid remembers that case well. "He would be going into his first year of high school."

"I really don't know how you do it," Luke speaks quietly as he continues to look at the photographs.

"They're reminders of what I can do to be a better doctor. I've learned from every one of them. I use them to fuel me, to tick me off so that I can kick ass for the next surgery." That's for another conversation though. He has a point that he's trying to get to. "Point is, I was the one to deliver that kind of news to their families. I've been called every name in the book. I've seen people with hope in their eyes crumble right in front of me when I tell them that their daughter didn't make it or their son. Luke, you can either be there for them as their doctor or you can be there for them as their friend. You can't expect to be both."

Reid's developed the tough skin that Luke doesn't have. He doesn't have to have it. Reid feels like he can carry this one for the both of them.

After staying silent for a couple of minutes, Luke returns the photographs, and Reid puts them away in his briefcase. "Okay," Luke nods his head. "You can handle this. I know you can. I just feel like, I just wish that there were something that I could do." There are worry lines forming on his face and his fingers are tapping silently but repeatedly on the table.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," Luke runs his fingers through his hair and moves to stand up.

Reid follows his movements, also standing, and facing him. He doesn't push. If Luke doesn't want to talk about whatever it is that he's thinking about then he isn't going to force him. Reid doesn't really know if that's the right move or not but he trusts that Luke will come to him if he wants to talk about something.

"Are you coming home soon?"

"I just have to finish some things up here. Maybe in an hour."

"I'll see you there." Luke leans in for a kiss that Reid returns and watches as Luke leaves the room.

There's definitely something that Luke isn't telling him and Reid has absolutely no clue what it can be. It's been almost three weeks since Luke's hospitalization and Reid remains worried about him. Not only has Luke been worrying about Matthew but Reid's been hearing the messages on their answering machine.

Parents going through another spat.

Sister might be on drugs, again.

Brother getting into fights at school.

Reid's not an idiot and he knows exactly how this is affecting Luke. He tosses and turns in the middle of the night. He's not eating as much as he should. He's going running in the mornings and runs on their treadmill at home. At this rate, another hospitalization is right around the corner.

Reid takes the remaining files on the table, putting them into his briefcase, and goes to find Dr. Huang. Matt has his attention tonight and he'll have to worry about Luke later.


	18. Chapter 18

Luke's tossing and turning in bed again. Reid didn't get much sleep the other night after returning home from the hospital. He and Dr. Huang made a conference call to the one missing member of their team, sent over some x-rays, and Reid had rounds the following morning.

After giving the surgical options to Matt and his mother earlier this evening, Reid went straight home, making it in time to have dinner with Luke. After an hour of mindless television, they both went to bed to sleep. Now, Reid glances over at the clock that reads 2:00 A.M. and places his hand on Luke's shoulder.

"Hey," Reid whispers, clearing his throat to be a little louder.

It takes a couple of minutes but Luke eventually wakes up. "Wha, huh?"

"If you move your legs any more, you're going to shove me right off the bed. I bruise easily, Dr. Snyder."

Luke sighs and turns toward Reid. "I'm sorry," he sighs and places his fingers against Reid's bare chest. "I should just start sleeping on the couch so I don't wake you."

"Stop it," Reid captures Luke's hand in his and holds on to it. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong now?" Reid's tired of waiting and he's given Luke plenty of time. It's time to go for it. When Luke says nothing after a minute, Reid goes on, "Is it Matt? Is it your nutty family? Is it --"

"All of the above," Luke doesn't speak above a whisper but Reid's close enough to hear him. Luke moves even closer and ends up tucking his head underneath Reid's chin. Reid moves on his back and wraps his arm around Luke as he waits for him to speak. If he knows Luke, and he does, he'll definitely start talking. "It's just all a little bit too much right now. It's starting to remind me of why I left."

"How did you feel when you left?"

"Overwhelmed by everyone around me. I had the pressure of school. I wanted to get to med school and I was stressed out by that and then came all of my family's problems piling on top of me. My parents relied on me to take care of my brother and sisters. The pressure ... it was too much."

Reid's dreading what's coming next and he takes in a deep breath, almost involuntarily tightening his arm around Luke. "So, what did you do?"

"Before I left, I was at my mom's house, and," he stops speaking and turns his head into Reid's chest. "I had a drink. I stopped myself from going further but I -- God," he groans, sitting up a little, and looking at Reid. "I wanted it so badly. I couldn't resist and I couldn't stop myself. I couldn't."

Reid brings his hand up to cradle the back of Luke's neck and he positions himself so he's resting on his elbows instead of the bed. In the darkness, Reid can see Luke beginning to lose it. "You're the strongest person I know."

"No," Luke quickly shakes his head and takes in a deep breath.

"Yes," Reid states firmly, gently squeezing the back of his neck. "Are you kidding me, Luke? I wouldn't have been able to handle half the things that you have. I probably would've been some crazy nutjob, panhandling on the side of the road." That gets a laugh out of Luke as he lifts his head to meet Reid's gaze. "You've gone through things that no one should ever have to go through and you've come out of all of it as a well-liked, well-loved person. Everyone immediately falls in love with you."

"Took some time to work on you," Luke smirks.

"Took like, what? A day? You got me buying that damn candy bowl." They both laugh and Luke rests his hand against Reid's chest once more. "Point is, a different man may have taken his experiences and really screwed up his life. You've taken them and you've become stronger because of them. It's only one but one of the many reasons that I fell in love with you."

"What's another reason?"

"Well, the money, of course. You're loaded," Reid says with a completely straight face.

Luke gives him a real smile and leans in to kiss him.

"Before ... before I left here, there wasn't anyone that I could go to. There wasn't anyone that I trusted enough to help me or to remind me that I am strong enough to fight this. I was trying to get away from Noah so I wasn't talking to him at all. My parents were in the middle of another fight. My friends just didn't understand where I was coming from."

"What'd you do after the drink?"

"Um," he pauses, appearing to still be stuck in that moment. "My grandmother was the only one who really supported my move. I told her what I did and she took me to an AA meeting. She stayed with me and she never told me that I was a bad person for what I did or put me down because I wasn't able to control that urge."

"Don't tell me that someone actually said that to you," Reid has no problem with finding that person and giving them a piece of his mind. And now that Luke's told him all of these things, he still isn't sure why Luke's moved back.

"Maybe implied it or it was insinuated. But, I got away and focused, got help, and now I'm ... it just seems really easy to fall into old patterns."

"You won't," Reid says confidently.

"How do you know that I won't?"

"Because you're not the kid that you were when you left. You're a smart, sexy, successful doctor and you have me on your side. Don't forget it."

"What does me being sexy have to do with anything?" Luke tries to hold back a smile but Reid can see that it's there and that he's getting to him.

"Just stating a fact that benefits me," Reid says as he leans in for a kiss. "Don't change the subject." Reid's hand reaches forward to cup Luke's cheek in his palm. "You know that I'm right about absolutely everything so know that I'm right about this. Okay?"

Luke stays silent for a moment as he stares back at Reid and nods a moment later. "Okay," he whispers.

Reid settles on his back with Luke against his chest again. Reid keeps an arm wound tightly around him, his thumb rubbing slowly against Luke's skin to comfort him. Maybe Luke will sleep well tonight.

\---

Reid enters Java and heads straight for the counter, getting his usual order before he takes a seat at a table. He has a very important meeting with someone here today and he wants to be awake for it. He didn't sleep well the previous evening and Luke didn't either. Even after their talk, he still moved in bed, keeping them both awake. Reid's taken the morning off and insists that Luke does the same. Thankfully, Luke had been too tired to argue and is still back in their place. Hopefully he's sleeping. Reid said he'd go right back there after this early morning meeting.

He takes a few sips, reading the newspaper he'd picked up before coming here, and when he looks up, he sees his companion walking through the door. Well, it's more like bursting through the door.

She takes off her sunglasses and sits across from him, her eyes glancing at his drink. "And where's my coffee, Dr. Oliver?"

"I thought that you'd have one of those fancy machines at home where the beans are ground down and the coffee's presented to you in a gold mug or something," he smiles knowing that the description is probably not too far from reality.

"Please, Reid. I'd never use a mug," she says with such disgust. "Gold chalices only," she smirks and unwraps the scarf from around her neck. It is warm inside.

"Thought as much," he folds up the newspaper and takes another sip.

"Well, you know how much I love our social visits but what is this really about? Could it be about my darling grandson?"

"It would be," he confirms for her. "I," he hesitates before speaking, tapping his fist on the table a couple of times. "I'm just worried about him and I know that you helped him before he left Oakdale. He didn't give me any of the details. He's been really stressed lately."

"Ah," she nods knowingly.

"You know where I'm going with this?"

"I may," she stares at him for a moment and he knows that anyone else would be completely unnerved by it. He feels comforted by it, always up for any kind of challenge that's presented to him. "Stress is definitely one of his ... triggers. Anything in particular that's bothering him?"

"A lot. Everything," he revises his words. "Literally everything. His parents are asking way too much from him --"

"They always do, darling. They always do," she rolls her eyes and he nods.

"He's worried that if he's ill then the parents of his patients won't allow their children to see him anymore. And there's also a patient of ours and I know that Luke's very concerned about him."

"Is the patient all right?"

"Luke's been his primary doctor for a year and the boy has a difficult tumor. Luke's really close to him and his mom. I'm trying to do everything that I can for the boy and I've been trying to do everything I can for Luke. I know what I can do for the boy. I might need some help with Luke."

Reid's never been afraid to ask for help. Professionally, if he isn't able to do it (as difficult as that always is for him to admit) he'll fly in the people who he knows are capable of helping. Personally, he's mostly always helped himself, and he's never really had anyone around to help him or anyone who would want to help him. Then Dr. Luke Snyder came into his life and flipped that all around.

"You're doing the right thing, Reid."

"I know that he had a drink right before leaving and you helped him through that. I thought he might need someone other than me in his corner."

"Of course, of course. Anything. I'll do anything," she folds her hands together, looking away from him as if already contemplating what she's going to do. Reid's feel very, very grateful.

"He's at home now. We took the morning off. We haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately and before your mind goes into the gutter, not for those reasons."

"My mind's always in the gutter," she smiles.

"I wouldn't doubt that," he chuckles. "But, Luke just hasn't been sleeping very well," Reid takes another sip of coffee, reminding him of what he's just said. "So, you'll talk to him?"

"I will."

"I'll drive," he finishes his coffee and takes his keys out of his pocket.

When they're in the car together on the way to what was formerly Luke's apartment and is now their apartment, Reid speaks up. "Thanks, Lucinda."

"Reid, there is absolutely no thanks necessary. You're the best thing that could have ever happened to Luke. You love that boy in a way that I've never seen and not only that but you both have the most stable and loving relationship that I've ever seen in this one horse town. If anyone tells you differently then they answer to me."

Reid glances over at her, a smirk on his face before he looks back at the road. "Compliments and threats all in one sentence. You're a woman after my own heart."

"No, I think that it's a little full in there with my grandson but I appreciate the offer."

Reid doesn't even roll his eyes at that comment. He is getting way, way too soft.

When they arrive at home, he takes her inside, and takes her coat for her. Luke walks out of the bedroom, hair sticking up all over the place, still in his sleepwear as he rubs his eyes. He stops when he sees the both of them standing in the doorway. "Grandmother," he smiles when he sees her. "This is a nice surprise."

The two walk toward each other, pressing kisses to cheeks, and exchanging embraces.

"What are you doing around these parts?" he asks her.

"Just thought that we could have a talk," she breezes past him, removing her scarf once again.

"Can I get you anything, Lucinda?" Reid asks as he hangs up her coat.

"For you to leave, Reid," she speaks without skipping a beat as she takes her place on the couch.

"Grandmother, what's this about?" he looks confused, looking between the both of them. "Reid?"

"I'll go get us lunch," Reid offers. He won't stand in the way of whatever Lucinda needs to do. As long as she helps to calm Luke down and try to ease some of his worries, he'll do whatever she wants.

"Reid," Luke says his name again and Reid walks toward him, placing his hands on his arms. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," he promises. "Just talk to her and have a nice little chat. I'll come back soon," he says, leaning in to kiss him. The look on Luke's face tells him that he doesn't really feel a lot of reassurance. Reid can't blame him. They're being very mysterious. He squeezes Luke's shoulders and leaves, closing the door behind him.

He hopes that this helps.

\---

Reid returns an hour later. After leaving the apartment, all he could think about was Luke and Lucinda and their talk. Lucinda's the person that Luke spoke to before he left when he was having a stressful time. Reid thinks that she's the person who can help Luke now. At least he hopes that he made the right move. He's new at all of this. He cares about Luke and he thinks that he's doing the right thing but will Luke think that he's running away from the problem or that he doesn't want to take care of it himself?

They argue about things. They argue all the time even though their form of arguing can easily be mistaken for some kind of foreplay between them. But, it's difficult when the arguments turn more serious like the confrontations they've been having lately. He hopes that this decision about Lucinda doesn't turn into another one of those arguments.

After wandering around, attempting to read, pretending to busy himself, he orders lunch for all of them, and eventually makes his way back to the apartment.

When he opens the door, he sees that they're still sitting on the couch. Luke wipes his eyes with the back of his hand and Reid places the bags of food on the dining room table. They're speaking in hushed tones. Reid can barely make out what they're saying.

Returning to the living room, he looks at them both, "Everything okay in here?"

"Yeah, it's great," Luke smiles at him, his words still sound a little choked as if caught in his throat. "I needed this."

"Darling," Lucinda tells him, placing her fingers over his. "This man loves you more than anything," she glances at Reid when she says it. "You feel overwhelmed or uneasy? You trust him. You have Lucinda Walsh's approval."

Luke laughs and then leans forward. She envelops him in her arms, holding him close.

"You'll be all right, my dear boy," she speaks in his ear and then pulls away to look at him, making sure that he catches her gaze before she releases him completely. "We'll all talk soon. I'd like to go to dinner and I'm sure that two medical professionals can afford to take me out," she stands and Luke follows. Luke gives Reid's arm a squeeze before Reid falls into step with Luke, walking Lucinda to the door. "I'll have my driver pick me up."

"I brought lunch," Reid's attempt to try to keep her here is weak. He wants to have Luke to himself.

"I'm sure that you'll be happy to make two meals all your own, Reid." She knows him so well and that's a strange thought. Before she leaves, she turns around to cup Luke's cheek in her palm, and they smile at one another. She leaves Reid with a nod and quickly pulls on her sunglasses before walking away from the apartment door.

Luke closes the door behind her and turns around, pressing his back against it.

"You okay?" Reid walks closer toward him and Luke nods. Without saying a word, Luke wraps his arms around him and holds on to him tightly. Reid can only hold him back, pressing a kiss to Luke's temple. Reid's given Luke everything that he needs and he isn't going to stop now. "We're staying here today. Let me just call Bob."

"No," Luke says immediately, pulling away to look at him, fresh tears running down his cheeks. Reid brings his thumb up and gently wipes them away. "Reid, Matt's surgery's coming up soon and you have patients to attend to. I don't mean to keep you home."

"You're not," he argues. "Luke, listen. It's important that you take care of yourself. But, it doesn't hurt to ask for help if you need it. I think that you were asking for help and that's why I brought Lucinda here. Don't ever be afraid of that because I'm not gonna turn you away." He doesn't know if any of this is reassuring Luke but he's still crying so he thinks that he needs to hear something else. "One day, Luke. One day and we'll both go back to work. Taking care of yourself is the most important thing right now."

Luke is a strong person but there are things that Luke needs to hear, reassurances that he needs from the people that he loves. Luke's past has taught him not to rely on others but that needs to change right now.

"All right," Luke nods and wipes at his eyes. "Okay, one day," he repeats. "Thank you, Reid."

"I love you. I wouldn't do this for some ordinary Joe Schmo walking down the street." He thinks that this is the most that he's ever told Luke that he loves him but it's something else that Luke needs to hear.

"I love you too."

Reid remembers telling Luke once that tears don't help. They make everyone look really unattractive and all runny and the last thing that he wants to be near is a sniffling, snotting person. Experiencing Luke's tears, feeling them cut inside of him as they fall, he's starting to think that they're not as useless as he once thought they were.

Reid leads him to the couch but Luke takes him to bed. They crawl into the covers and Reid pulls it over the both of them, Reid still fully clothed. It doesn't matter. They both finally fall into a peaceful rest.


	19. Chapter 19

Luke's doing better since his talk with Lucinda and he's feeling comfortable enough to talk to Reid about the things that bother him before they become too much of a problem. Luke's share of personal tragedy has far exceed anything that Reid can find in some weird, twisted spy novel. None of those things happen in real life but most of those things have happened to Luke Snyder.

The kidnappings (multiple), the drinking, and let's not forget about the ex-boyfriend who thinks that it's perfectly okay to show up at a Thanksgiving meal several years after breaking up.

Luke tells him another story about his past.

It happens just before he'd planned to leave for med school.

Luke's mind had been made up when he'd received his letter of acceptance. Noah had the audacity to play on his guilt, use the excuse of leaving behind his friends, and his family. Noah's never had family and he claimed to have needed Luke.

Years ago, those lines would've worked, and kept him in Oakdale. Luke would've rescinded his acceptance and would accept the responsibility that he had at home.

That time, in that moment, Luke realized that he had to leave. He wanted to be more than the boy from Oakdale. He wanted to "help others and do something more with his life," Reid remembers him saying that repeatedly.

Noah made things difficult for him, always pushing him away, always stringing him along like Luke was his own personal yo-yo. When Noah wanted him, he'd pull him back to him and when he didn't, he'd release the string. The release always hurt the most and Noah made sure that it stung, blaming him for things that hadn't been Luke's fault.

Even when Luke had been away and getting his doctorate, Noah expected him to drop everything to be with him when he was in LA or drop everything to talk to him on the phone, only to get upset when Luke said he was busy. Luke knew it was finally over when Noah threatened to end the relationship for the 1,000th time and Luke didn't care. They weren't in a relationship and it wasn't Noah's decision to start things up again whenever he felt like it. It was truly over for Luke.

Luke recalls a period after that when he allowed himself to explore his sexuality. Being with only one man who hadn't really enjoyed being physical with him in a way that he wanted, had left him extremely inexperienced. Luke tells Reid that he hadn't been looking for a boyfriend. The self-hatred that he had for himself made him incapable of accepting the thought of someone loving him. So, every experience was purely physical. He didn't like anal sex that much but enjoyed taking blow jobs, rarely giving, unless he was in a giving mood. Sex had been a release and a temporary distraction, nothing more. Any time someone did want to take it a step further, he'd end it.

But, Luke being Luke, he's always been cautious. Even his regular sex encounters had been with the same few men. "Regular fuck buddies," he'd said. Even as he admits it, a blush spreads across his cheeks, ashamed, and embarrassed to admit it. Reid shares that he's done his fair share of exploring his own sexuality. The boyfriends he'd had, and he uses the term loosely, didn't last for more than a month, if that.

Luke admits that with Reid, it had been different. It remains different with Reid. Luke has finally allowed himself to love and be loved. It's a huge, giant step in the right direction. Reid makes him feel like this is how love should be and Reid's stomach flips when Luke says it. They end the conversation and make love before they sleep.

The day after this intense conversation is Matt's surgery. Reid turns on his side and sees Luke's eyes already open, one hand resting on his chest, and the other arm at his side. Reid takes in a deep breath and tucks his hands underneath his pillow as he watches him.

"Hey," Luke greets him with a small smile. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

Reid shakes his head. "Been up long?"

"Not too long," Luke mirrors Reid's position, turning to rest on his stomach, and placing a hand against Reid's warm back. "Last night was ..." he trails, searching for the right words.

Reid thinks that he knows what these words are. Luke poured out everything last night. Allowing Reid to see that much of himself left him vulnerable and Reid took care of him as much as he could when they had sex, making sure Luke knew that he hadn't made the wrong decision in trusting him with that information.

"Your poured your guts out, Dr. Snyder," Reid finishes for him.

Luke chuckles, "Something like that, yeah." His hand slides up Reid's back and moves to play with his hair that curls at the nape of his neck. "Are you freaked out at all?"

They've been together for almost six months now. He remembers spending most of those first two months freaked out by how deeply and how quickly he'd fallen for Luke Snyder. But, this? "Nope," he answers quickly.

"Good," Luke smiles, that smile wavering again as another thought appears to cross his mind. "Are you leaving soon?"

"Yeah," Reid lifts his head so he can look at the clock. "Prep's in about an hour."

"I'll go with you. I told them that I'd be with them."

Reid can't stop him from doing whatever he wants to do. Although he's still concerned, this is about Luke's relationship with Matthew and his mother. Matthew's officially out of Luke's care and their personal relationship exceeds that of doctor/patient. Reid finds him in Matthew's room often, the two of them playing games together or if Matthew's sleeping, Luke speaks with his mother.

Reid can't envision himself interacting with a patient that way but Luke is different. He gets to know his patients and Reid's known that about him since the beginning. This thing with Matthew is special and Reid can only hope that the kid's a fighter.

"Whatever happens, Reid, I know that you all tried your best. You got him the best care and I'm so grateful for that," Reid watches as he puts on a brave face, trying to maintain some kind of partiality and distance as he speaks.

"The kid's lucky to have you in his corner. Before coming to Middle of Nowhere, Illinois, I'd just about given up on the idea of doctor's giving a crap about their patients. It's either about having a boat load of money or their name displayed in every medical journal around the world," he rolls his eyes, disgust in his voice as he talks about those people. "But, it isn't about that for you."

"And even if you love hearing everyone say how you're the greatest neurosurgeon in the universe --" Luke quickly continues to speak before Reid has the chance to interrupt, "-- and you are, I know that it isn't about that for you either."

It's something that Reid can't refute but it's true. He's earns that title because of his success rate as a surgeon and not because he gets a big cut from the insurance companies or because he writes the most articles. He wants to do the work and he wants to improve the quality of life for someone who may not otherwise have one because of their medical problems. He cares about that and he does care about his patients.

Reid doesn't respond but leans in to kiss Luke.

People look at Reid and see only what's on the surface. Luke looks at Reid and sees everything.

"All right," Reid says as he pulls away. "Let's get a move on."

Just as Reid's about to get out of bed, Luke reaches up, and pulls on his arm. "Reid." That catches Reid's attention and Luke turns around, moving into a sitting position. He reaches forward and presses Reid's lips to his once again. They sit there kissing, morning breath and all, but Reid can certainly feel something else transferring between them. He feels like Luke needs this and he's aware that he needs this too.

When they pull away, Luke smiles at him, gives him one more kiss, and then they get out of bed.

They take a shower together, helping each other wash away the remnants of last night's activities. They manage to keep any touching above the waist. It's always difficult for Reid to resist Luke especially when they're in confining spaces but their minds are focused elsewhere. Everything remains chaste except for a few shared kisses while they're helping to soap each other.

Afterward, they get dressed. Chris has Luke's shift covered for today so he's dressed casually and won't have to change into his scrubs. Reid's clean scrubs are at the hospital so he'll change they get there.

They get breakfast to go and head directly to the hospital. Luke's driving so Reid eats his on the way. His order is double what Luke orders so Reid's just getting a head start.

When they arrive, Luke takes breakfast into the doctor's lounge, and Reid changes into his scrubs. He's meeting Matthew's other two doctors here but while they wait, he and Luke eat their breakfast together. They've both been silent, Reid concentrating on what he's going to go over this morning, and Luke probably thinking about Matthew. Silence on Luke's end is always unusual but Reid allows it today, not wanting to hear Luke's fears about the surgery. If he hears those things, it'll stick in the back of Reid's mind. That's something that he doesn't need right now.

They finish breakfast and Luke tells him that he's going to see Matthew. With a kiss, Luke leaves just as the other two doctors walk into the room. They all greet each other before Luke walks out. Then, they get down to business.

The surgery is a difficult one. They're all aware of that. They've taken x-rays to display every area of the brain that they're able to see, making sure that they know where that tumor is, how they're going to attack it, how they're planning to remove it. Each of them contribute. Dr. Huang is in charge of the surgery as the pediatric neurologist. Dr. Feldman has been monitoring him as his pediatric oncologist. Reid will be monitoring the surgery even though pediatrics isn't his specialty. He's still more familiar with the brain, any brain. He's been with Matthew since the beginning of this and he won't leave now.

Matthew's surgery is scheduled for 1:00 in the afternoon. The two doctors make sure to eat before then since they'll be in there for a few hours while they attempt to remove the new tumor. While they do that, Reid goes to his office to check on several other patients, letting Jaymie know that he'll be unreachable for the remainder of the day, and told her to leave early.

He goes into the surgery the way that he goes into other surgeries. He's relaxed, confident, and eager. Even though he's not the one who's going to be operating, he'll still be there, and he'll be able to see that gray mass that he admires so much. This is the brain of a child, still developing, still learning a variety of things, and not as defined as an adult. Seeing a brain as it is, it's really the great equalizer. He thinks this way in every surgery. Underneath all the skin, underneath the skull and bones, everything's the same. Everyone's the same underneath.

Matthew’s being rolled into the operating room by a nurse. He’s already on a surgical table, the IV in his arm, and hooked up to machines that will monitor his vitals. The beeping is steady, continuous, and Matthew appears comfortable.

Just as Reid adjusts his face mask, he hears, “Dr. Oliver?”

“Right here, Matt,” he steps closer and looks down at him on the table.

Matthew smiles a little, the drugs already taking their effect, “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Wouldn’t be anywhere else, bud. Unless they’re giving away free Jello somewhere then I’m so outta here.” With Luke making frequent trips to Matthew’s room, he’s stolen his fair share of unopened Jello snack packs. It makes the kid laugh every time and today is no exception. He laughs again and Reid smiles back behind the mask. “I’ll make it up to you later,” he promises. “You just rest now.”

“‘Kay,” Matthew agrees, his eyelids droop, getting heavier until he closes his eyes.

“Patient’s under,” a nurse announces to them.

He looks at the clock on the wall. It's 1:08. Time for surgery to begin.

\---

It’s now 3:17.

Dr. Huang has been working on removing the tumor piece by piece, taking advice from Reid about where to make his incisions, what areas to avoid when he’s too close to them but he’s mostly doing everything on his own. Reid’s making observations on the monitor that allows him to see all the action up close.

There’s more blood than he anticipated. The suction is going in to clear the space but he thinks that this is an unusual amount. At first, he thinks that there’s a bleed but then there’d be more blood than this so he knows that that isn’t the cause. It makes things difficult to see but Dr. Huang is moving slow enough that they’re all able to see where the cuts are made.

Suddenly, the monitors begin to start beeping frantically. Reid watches Matthew’s blood pressure dropping, the monitors register his heart beating quickly, and the nurse gets distracted, unable to see anything in the brain because of the amount of blood.

They’re all trying to remain calm but it all goes quickly. There’s yelling and he isn’t sure if that’s him yelling or someone else yelling at him. They’re becoming frantic and Reid moves closer to see if he can determine what the cause of this is. He suctions the blood himself and then he sees it.

It’s too late.

Dr. Huang moves him aside and uses the suction, taking pause when he sees what Reid sees. He tries to do the damage control and he works quickly.

The monitor registers the flatline and Matthew’s heart stops right there on the table.

“Turn off the alert,” Reid says to one of the nurses. They don’t need to hear that the monotone beep of the monitor. They all know what’s happened.

“God damn,” Dr. Huang murmurs, shaking his head, and looking down into the brain. “Damn,” he keeps saying.

“Time of death,” Reid speaks first, glancing at the clock. His voice is caught in his throat, a raspy sound coming out when he speaks again, “3:34 p.m.”

Closing his eyes briefly, he tries to reverse time, tries to predict that this is going to happen, wanting to go back and fix all of this. He wants to try to revive Matthew, bring him to life again, and fix what can be fixed.

“Dr. Oliver,” he hears his name and he opens his eyes again, realizing that this is the reality. There is no going back. There’s only looking forward. “Dr. Oliver, I’m going to inform the mother,” he hears Dr. Feldman say.

Reid shakes his head, responding quickly, “No. I’ll go.”

“Reid you’re too --”

“No,” Reid repeats, his voice firm. He turns away and walks through the doors to clean up. He removes his gloves and washes his hands. He removes his mask, throwing it away, and keeps his surgical cap on before walking out to the waiting room.

Unfortunately, he runs into Luke before he can make it there. “Re --” his name gets caught in Luke’s throat the second that Luke looks at him. The smile quickly disappears and is replaced by a look of concern. “Reid?” he questions, quietly.

Reid looks back at him and responds to the unspoken question the only way that he knows how. “I’m sorry, Luke.”

Luke’s face crumbles, breaking down almost immediately. Reid takes one step toward him and envelops him into his arms. Luke’s arms wrap around him tightly as he begins to tremble, crying silently against him. The only thing that Reid can do is hold him close and feel his own heart breaking for him.


	20. Chapter 20

Matthew’s case was difficult and not even Reid and his team of medical professionals could have anticipated what happened in the operating room. They underestimated the location of the tumor, making it even more difficult to remove once they had opened the brain. Dr. Huang had been aggressive but completely justified in the actions that resulted in the death of Matthew Hilts.

Reid’s going over the official report now and making some additional notes. It’s all very clinical, professional, neat and clean. After all, that’s the way these things are handled. Reid knows all about this protocol, having done it before more times than he’d like.

Professionally, he understands death is part of the job. Personally, he tries not to think about it except for those few cases he keeps in the form of photographs. This time, he can’t help but think about it when he has a partner who’s in mourning. He’s never been around to witness the grief first-hand but he’d seen it on Luke after the surgery.

It’s been three days. The wake is tomorrow with the funeral the day after that. Reid knows this because he and Luke discussed going. No, Luke’s told him he’s going and he’s been trying to convince Reid to go with him.

Things are tense between them. Reid knows that Luke doesn’t blame him for the surgery. He’s said himself he knows he did all he could for Matthew. Nevertheless, Luke’s been keeping his distance. He’s taken personal leave at the hospital and he’s been spending one night at mom’s and one night at dad’s. Today’s another day with dad, Reid thinks.

He’s just finishing up at the office and he’s saved this report for last. It isn’t finished yet so he takes it with him, putting it into his briefcase and walks out to his car.

He pauses when he’s behind the wheel, unsure of whether to go home to the empty apartment, to a bar so he can relax and relieve some of the tension he’s been feeling lately, or hunt down his boyfriend.

He thinks about Luke and how they haven’t really spoken since the surgery. It makes his gut twist a little and his heart pound hard a couple of times at the thought. He tries to tell himself he’s probably just hungry but he knows that’s not what the feeling is. He misses Luke already, trying to avoid that train of thought since they’ve only been apart for a few days.

He doesn’t just miss Luke. He thinks about how he’s handling his grief. He wonders if he’s running away from him because he really does blame him for the surgery. He’s asking himself if he should’ve gone after him the second Luke told him he was spending the night with his mother.

Reid doesn’t know what to do here but he wants to be with Luke. So he’s going to find him.

In Oakdale, he never has to go far. If Luke isn’t in one place then he’s got to be in the other. First, he tries his mother’s house. When he sees that nobody is home, he jumps into the car, and heads over to dad’s house.

When he arrives, he sees the lights on the front porch are on, and so are the lights in the kitchen. He kills the engine and walks straight into the house.

“Reid,” Holden spots him first, obviously completely surprised to see him. “Are you looking for Luke? He’s out in the barn.”

Reid notices the other two female Snyders around are giving him a good, hard glare. He wants to have a stare off with them (because he’ll win) but that isn’t his objective now.

“Uh, thanks,” Reid’s about to turn right around again to head out the door when Holden calls out to him again.

“Reid, are you guys doing okay?”

Yeah, there’s no way he’s going to talk to Luke’s dad about any of this especially when he doesn’t really know what’s going on himself. “Um, yeah. I mean, I guess so. Thanks,” he answers quickly and walks back out the door.

The lights are dim in the barn except for a light toward the back. He slips in through the door and walks toward it when he hears quiet voices during his approach.

“... just like when you were my age,” he hears Ethan.

Luke laughs and Reid smiles, completely annoyed at himself because he’s missed that laugh so damn much. “That’s right. I did have my very own horse then. Now you have yours.”

Reid sneaks in a little closer, Ethan and Luke’s backs turned to him as they brush the coat of the pony. “You haven’t stayed over in a long time, Luke.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t, buddy. I’m living with Reid now. Remember Dr. Oliver?”

“Yeah,” Ethan sighs and that makes Luke laugh again.

“You like him, don’t you?”

“Yeah but you spend more time with him than you do with us now.”

Reid watches Luke’s shoulders slump and he nods, leaning over to press a kiss to Ethan’s hair. “I’m spending time with you now,” he wraps his arm around his little brother and Ethan does the same, wrapping his arm around Luke’s waist.

Things begin to quiet down again and Reid thinks about making his presence known when he hears Ethan say, “Do you like him a lot?”

“Who? Reid?” Ethan looks at him and nods. “Yeah, I do.”

“More than you like us?”

“Ethan,” he tightens his arm around him and shakes his head. “I love you both in different ways.” Releasing him, he bends down so that he’s at eye-level with Ethan. “You’re my brother. I’ll always love you and I’ll always take care of you and I’ll always be here. Okay?”

Ethan considers all of this and nods. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Luke pulls him into his arms, hugging him tightly.

Seeing this moment, thinking about what Luke’s going through right now, it’s probably best that Reid just leaves. He turns around to walk back through the barn door when he hears his name.

“Reid?”

Turning around again, he gives Luke a small smile, stuffing his hands into his pocket.

“What are you doing here?” Luke pulls away from Ethan’s embrace but he doesn’t really let go, standing, but still allowing Ethan to stay by his side.

“Just thought I’d … stop by.” The excuse sounds lame coming from his lips and he knows how lame it is.

“I’ll be back,” he pats his brother’s side and motions to the small horse. “Keep brushing. You want his coat to really shine,” he advises him. Ethan looks at them both but goes back to attending to the horse.

Luke walks away from him to stand close to Reid. “Hey,” he says when he reaches him.

“Hi,” Reid replies, bringing his hand up to cup the back of Luke’s neck. “You okay?”

“No,” Luke answers immediately, shaking his head, folding his lips into his mouth, and looking down at the ground to prevent Reid from seeing his eyes. Reid can already hear the trembling in his voice. He doesn’t know why he feels like he needs to hide his tears.

“Luke, you can’t hide out here forever.”

“That’s not what I’m doing!” Luke raises his voice and a look of regret immediately sweeps across his face. “I’m -- I’m sorry but that’s not … I’m not hiding out. I told you I’m dealing with this, Reid.”

“Actually, you haven’t told me anything. You just said that you needed some time, that you wouldn’t be at home, and I could call you.”

“You didn’t call.”

“You’re avoiding my point. You haven’t told me anything, Luke. You’re kinda keeping me in the dark here and I don’t want you to.”

“Oh, so everything is on your time table now? On your schedule?” he pulls away from Reid’s touch and that definitely stings a little. “Not everyone can function the way that you can, Dr. Oliver. Not everyone is built to just complete brush off something as tragic as what happened to --” he pauses and shakes his head, closing his eyes. When he opens them again, he stares at Reid still maintaining that anger in his eyes. “I’m going to spend some time with my family and I want you to leave.”

“No,” Reid answers firmly, standing his ground.

That shocks Luke out of his rant. “No?”

“You heard me.” Reid isn’t going to indulge Luke in this drama. He knows Luke and this isn’t him. He’s pushing Reid away for whatever reason and he knows that Luke will only come to regret it.

The fight seems to leave Luke but he’s still stubborn and just turns on his heel to walk back to his brother. They’re clearly having some kind of moment out here so Reid leaves them alone for now, walking back toward the house.

Holden’s the only one left in the kitchen, washing up the dishes left behind by his daughters. There’s a surprised look on his face too. Yes, yes, Reid’s just full of unexpected moments today.

“Do you have any leftovers?” Reid asks when he steps inside.

“Hello to you too,” Holden smirks, looking down and washing another plate. “There should be enough in the fridge.” Reid heads toward it and just as he’s about to open it, Holden stops him. “After you help me here,” he points down at the full sink.

Reid groans but he drags his feet to the sink. Removing his jacket and rolling up his sleeves, he begins to soap and wash while Holden dries.

“So you guys haven’t been talking lately?”

Great and now he’s going to get a “talk.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Luke mentioned something about it.”

“And by mentioned do you really mean he spilled his guts out about it?”

Holden laughs and shakes his head. “No, he didn’t. But, he is pretty miserable.”

“I assume that has more to do with the death that he’s mourning rather than me.”

“I think that it’s a little bit of both.”

Reid’s intrigued despite trying so very hard not to be. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he’s definitely mourning the patient you both lost. This is the first time that he’s really been part of the entire cycle. Sure, he’s been the patient in the hospital with everyone afraid that we were going to lose him.” Reid thinks about that and feels his entire world crumble around him. He’s only experienced part of that with Luke and it was no less terrifying. “But, he had this exuberant, fun, playful little kid that probably reminded him a little of Ethan. He hadn’t been there much for Ethan. He was born when Luke was doing his residency and Lily and I … she almost lost the baby,” Holden pauses, quickly collecting himself. “Anyway, Luke took to Matthew almost immediately and Matt did kind of look up to Luke as some kind of big brother figure.”

“These are things that Luke should’ve told me himself.” Reid really shouldn’t be hearing it from Luke’s dad and it makes him a little … uncomfortable even hurt that there are important things that Luke’s kept from him.

“Probably,” Holden agrees with him. “But, I’m sure that Luke has his reasons. He’s always felt really guilty for not being here for us before Ethan was born and even after. He had work and we understood that. He’s just always had a little trouble accepting his absence during that time. He was here for Natalie and Faith but not Ethan.”

Everything clicks in place for Reid at lightning speed and Holden holds out his hand for the next dish. Reid forgets that he’s in the middle of washing it and hands it over.

“What’s Luke doing now?”

Reid instinctively looks toward the barn and Holden follows his gaze but says nothing. “He’s with Ethan in the barn.”

They finish the dishes in silence and Reid stands at the sink until he sees Ethan running through the doors with Luke chasing him. Both of them make it to the house, still laughing and smiling. Reid’s still looking out the window and eventually looks down at the sink, noticing the wrinkles in his fingers.

“Reid?” Luke calls his name, a concerned expression on his face as Reid turns to look at him. “You’re still here,” he notices.

“Told ya I wasn’t going anywhere,” Reid wipes his hands on a cloth and walks to the fridge. “I was promised leftovers for a trade,” he holds up his fingers for Luke to see.

It makes Luke smile a little. “How’d they get that wrinkled?”

“Come here, buddy,” Holden reaches down to carry Ethan but Ethan fusses in his arms, saying Luke’s name. “Say goodnight to Luke and Reid. You’ve got to go to bed.”

“Night, Luke!” he says, Holden moving him closer so that he can wrap his arms around Luke’s neck for a hug.

“Night,” Luke smiles as he hugs him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Sleep tight.”

“‘Kay,” Ethan nods. “Night, Oliver!” he calls out to Reid as Holden takes him away.

“Oliver?” he asks once Ethan’s out of the room.

“He doesn’t like your first name. Oliver kind of rolls off the tongue,” Luke mentions as he walks to the sink to clean up a little, washing his hands thoroughly. Reid grabs the plate that’s meant for Luke and he reaches inside for some fresh turkey and several other fixings to make a sandwich.

They’re silent as they go about their tasks, Reid heating up what he wants, and Luke using the microwave to heat up his plate. He takes it with a glass of water to the table and when Reid finishes making his sandwich, he follows Luke to the table, and sits beside him.

They eat together in silence.

Luke’s the one who breaks it. “Why can’t you just leave, Reid?”

“Because I’m not stupid,” he tells him, mouth full. He swallows and pops a falling piece of turkey into his mouth as he looks at him. “You don’t want me to leave. For whatever reason, you’re punishing yourself by thinking you need to do this alone. I won’t let you do that.”

“I’ve always dealt with things alone, Reid.”

“And … I haven’t?” It should have been harder for him to adjust to a relationship with Luke. He has spent more time alone than he’s ever spent being with someone else but it’s been so easy with Luke because Luke makes it look so easy. It’s easy to love Luke. It’s easy to give in to Luke. It’s easy to feel around Luke. “I’ve never talked to anyone about how I felt about anything.”

Luke considers that, concentrating on Reid’s words. “You talk to me about things. What’s changed?”

“In case it isn’t obvious by now in the several months that we’ve been seeing each other,” Reid puts the sandwich down so that he can talk to him. “You.”

“Me?”

“Yeah,” Reid laughs, not even bothering to pretend that Luke’s surprise isn’t adorable. It is. Reid also used to hate words like adorable, only equating them to fluffy bunnies or fluffy puppies but Luke’s sort of like that sometimes. “I still don’t like talking about those feeling … things, often. You know that. But, you’ve brought things out of me that I’d never think about talking about. There are even those things that probably don’t matter and somehow matter to you.”

“Of course they do. Everything about you matters to me.”

“So, what makes you think that everything about you doesn’t matter to me? What makes you think that I don’t want to hear about what you’re going through right now and that you have to do this alone?”

Reid knows that he’s got Luke right where he wants him, wanting him to talk after these days of silence. Silence and Luke Snyder don’t really work in the same sentence.

“No one’s ever really been there for me, Reid,” Luke admits, speaking quietly. “I tried. I tried with Noah to keep him part of my life. I wanted him to know everything about me and I wanted him to help me. When I tried to help him, he just pushed me away. He pushed me away every single time.” Reid’s ready to go find that pompous ass just to punish him for the hold he still manages to have on Luke. But, that’s something Luke will frown upon. Still, the idea brings him plenty of joy.

“You can’t be there for everyone else and want or expect nothing in return.” The expression on Luke’s face tells Reid everything that he needs to know. This is Luke at his worst. He really doesn’t expect anything in return. Reid wants to punch every single person who’s done Luke wrong. Forget about his hands because every single one of them will deserve it.

Reid reaches forward and presses two fingers underneath Luke’s chin, lifting his head so he looks directly at him. Without saying anything, he leans in for a kiss. He wants Luke to feel that he isn’t like the rest of them. He’ll prove to Luke that he isn’t like them. Luke’s hand comes to rest on Reid’s wrist, his fingers still underneath his chin as they continue to kiss.

Holden clears his throat and Luke’s the one who pulls away. Reid sighs and turns his head to glare. “Just wondering if you’re staying over tonight, Luke. I’ll get your bed ready.”

Luke looks at Reid and Reid gazes back at him.

“Um, no. No, thanks, dad. I’m going home but I’ll be back soon,” he promises. “Let’s pack this all up,” Luke motions to the food in front of them.

They pack the food together, wrapping it up, and Reid knows that he isn’t going to touch the rest of this food until later. He and Luke aren’t done yet.

Luke says goodnight to his dad. Reid gives him the keys so he can put the leftovers in the car. While he’s out doing that, Reid says his reluctant thanks to Holden. Luke’s mom doesn’t seem to like him very much. After all, she’s still very much Team Noah but Luke’s dad has never shown him anything but acceptance. Reid can respect that.

Reid walks out to the car and starts the drive back to their place, both of them silent all the way there. They maintain their silence as they unload the food, as they walk up to their apartment, as they put away the food, and finally breaks when they’re in the bedroom.

Well, sort of. Luke says, “I’m going to take a shower.”

Reid replies, “I’ll join you.”

Even though they haven’t been together in a few days and it’s been even longer since they’ve had sex, the shower’s completely innocent. Reid helps him soap up and makes sure he gets all the barn smell off of him. He begins to help shampoo Luke’s hair (an activity that Reid actually loves doing because of the way that Luke practically purrs when he massages his scalp) and they face each other while he does it.

Luke’s eyes moisten. Reid can see that even with water cascading all around them. Luke releases a quiet sigh and then whispers, “Reid.”

Reid quickly takes him into his arms as he begins to sob against him, a loud, wailing cry escapes his lips. Reid kisses him, keeps him tightly pressed against him. This is everything that Luke’s has held for three days. This is about him mourning for Matthew. This is about Luke believing that no one is there for him. This is about loss, a deep, all encompassing loss. All Reid can do is hold on and believe that he’s enough.

Luke eventually begins to still and Reid can feel that he’s holding most of Luke’s weight. Reaching forward, he turns the water off, and quickly grabs a towel. Luke’s slumped forward a little but he keeps himself standing upright as Reid dries him. Reid thinks that he’s completely out of it but Luke grabs a towel to dry Reid. They both work together to get as dry as they can but they don’t bother with towels when they step out of the shower.

They go straight to bed, foregoing all of their other nightly rituals. When Luke’s underneath the covers, Reid follows and presses his chest to Luke’s back. He presses a chaste kiss to the back of Luke’s neck as he rests his head on Luke’s pillow, staying close.

Luke says nothing but he places his hand over the arm that Reid keeps wrapped around his body.

Reid leans in close to his ear and whispers, “You’re never alone.”

Luke takes Reid’s hand and tightens his arm around him. “I love you, Reid.”

Reid presses another kiss to his shoulder and settles down next to him.

Whatever they have to face, they face it together. Reid will accept nothing less.


	21. Chapter 21

Reid knows he won’t be welcome at Matthew’s funeral and Luke believes otherwise.

“I think it shows you’re also mourning for him and shows you as a professional who cares about his patients,” Luke tries to reason, buttoning his white shirt.

“I think the reaction will be more like, ‘Hey, what the hell is the doctor who was there when the kid died doing here at the funeral? Is he trying to compensate for making the huge mistake of operating in the first place?’ I don’t think you’re being realistic here, Luke.”

“And I don’t think anyone will think that.”

“Then you’re being completely naive.”

Reid shoves himself off of the edge of the bed, bringing himself to his feet as he walks several steps forward to reach Luke, and helps to button his shirt. “Any other time and I’d be unbuttoning this shirt.”

“Reid,” Luke speaks with a mixture of affection and annoyance in his voice. Whatever he’s feeling, he leans forward to press a kiss to Reid’s forehead. “I’m going to the funeral.”

“I’m not telling you not to and if you haven’t noticed, I’m helping you dress,” Reid’s fingers motion to Luke’s outfit. “That means I support you going.”

Reaching for Luke’s jacket, he holds it out for him, and then helps him put it on. He leaves his hands on Luke’s broad shoulders, feeling the expanse of them underneath his fingertips as Luke turns around again to face him. “It’d mean a lot to me if you went. I’m sure it’d mean a lot to Matthew if you went.”

“Luke, I don’t go to the funerals of my patients.”

“I just thought this one would be different for you.”

“Yeah, you’re wrong.”

Luke pulls away from him abruptly, grabbing his tie hanging on the chair. “Fine. Don’t come.” He both walks and stomps out of the room with Reid following him, and watches as Luke shoves his socked feet into his nice dress shoes he’d shined earlier.

“Don’t do this. Don’t you think you’re going to be a witness to enough drama today?”

“Reid, I don’t know how you can be so …” Luke pauses as if realizing there’s no end to that sentence. Reid knows that Luke knows who he is and he knows exactly how he “can be so.”

“It is,” Reid interrupts. “It is different for me. This is different for me because I’ve never been with someone who’s been this close to a patient of mine before. Hell, I’ve never been with someone this long before but that’s, that’s beside the point.” Luke smiles a little anyway. “Point is, I’ve had patients I’ve been close with who’ve made me smile and make me feel good and then one minute they’re here and the next they’re gone. This is my job, Luke.”

“So, you think of it as just a job?”

Reid sighs. “Are you even listening to me?”

“I’m listening! I’m just …” he rubs his fingers against his temple and leans back against the back of the couch, resting against it, and still holding his tie in his other hand.

Reid follows him until he’s standing directly in front of him. “I’m used to seeing this whole cycle. There’s life and then there’s death. This is the first time you’ve been exposed to it, professionally, and believe me, I know how much it sucks. So if you hear anyone bad mouthing me or blaming me then let them.” Luke wants to protest but Reid goes on. “Let them. Whatever I’m feeling is nothing compared to the way they’re feeling.”

Luke nods in understanding and slips the tie around his neck. Reid watches as he expertly ties it without the use of a mirror.

“I’ll see you later?” Luke asks.

Reid nods and Luke leans in for a kiss. His lips linger against Reid’s for a moment and Reid gives him whatever he can provide for him in this brief moment -- comfort, assurance, affection, love.

When the door closes behind Luke, Reid feels a pang. After all, isn’t he the guy who told Luke he’d never be alone and now he’s letting him walk right out the door to a situation he may not be emotionally prepared for. Just the other day, Luke was sobbing in the shower, and now Reid thinks he’s going to be okay at the funeral?

Well, yeah.

Reid does think Luke’s going to be okay at the funeral. Luke’s going to be too busy concerned about other people’s feelings to think about his own. He’ll speak to Matt’s mom and meet the rest of the family. Luke does care about every single one of his patients. Reid may not have that connection with everyone the way Luke does but he has to let Luke do this his own way.

Reid deals with this whole death thing another way. He moves on to the next. He prepares the next case, he consults the next patient, and he makes sure never to make the same mistake twice.

Reid heals in the operating room with scalpel in hand, each brain new territory.

Thinking about Matthew gives him a sense of determination and he knows he won’t be here in the apartment when Luke returns. He’ll know where to find him.

\---

”Patient’s an excellent candidate for surgery. A little whiny and talks way too much about her cat but has many options available for post-op. Schedule her in for several tests --” Reid pauses his dictation when he sees his office door is open.

Bob Hughes walks inside, hands in his coat pockets as he approaches the desk.

“May I be of assistance, Dr. Hughes? The Alzheimer's finally kick in and you need some help finding your office?” Reid stops his recording and leaves it on his desk to continue later.

“Reid, I have missed your quips,” he takes a seat across from Reid, that same pleasant expression on his face he uses for everyone. “Is Dr. Snyder doing all right?”

“He should be ready to heal some cuts and bandage some bruises this coming Monday.”

“Well, tell him the cuts and bruises will have to wait a little. I don’t want him coming in on Monday.”

That immediately infuriates Reid, keeping his hands on the desk so they don’t accidentally fly out and punch his chief of staff. “What gives you the right to dictate whether or not he’s capable of working? He’s perfectly fine and whatever’s happening in his personal life, I can assure you that --”

“I don’t want you coming in either,” he interrupts.

“Bob, you have no right --”

“Reid, if you let me get two words in then maybe I can explain.”

“Talk fast.”

Bob looks way too amused, a small chuckle escaping his lips before he speaks. Then he clears his throat so he can appear more professional. “I know this last patient was difficult for you both. Luke’s health took a hit,” Bob holds his hand up just as Reid’s about to protest.

“What’s your point, Dr. Hughes?” Reid bites his tongue to hold back a quip about being ancient, using this moment as the only opportunity to tell long, boring old people stories, but he manages to have a little restraint.

“You’ve been working almost nonstop and I think it’s time for you two to take a break.”

“Excuse me?”

“A vacation, Dr. Oliver. It’s one of those things where you book plane tickets or sip drinks on the beach with little umbrellas in it. Mrs. Hughes and I went on a cruise last year with this all you can eat seafood buff--”

“No. That might be okay for the chief of staff and his wife and you should be retired anyway, I don’t know why you aren’t,” Reid mutters under his breath. “It isn’t okay with me and I’m sure it won’t be okay with Luke.”

“Reid, listen up,” Bob’s commanding voice does grab Reid’s attention. He knows that tone and advice is just around the bend but Reid often finds himself listening to what this man has to say. “You and Luke, you’re both young, you’re successful, and you’re both excellent doctors. I’ve never seen two doctors more dedicated to the health and well-being of their patients. But take that energy and take some time to take care of each other, give yourselves a break to be happy without the day-to-day worries and stresses.”

“So, you’re telling me you want us to …”

“No, I don’t want you to. This is an order. Effective at the date and time that’s convenient for you, you and Dr. Snyder are taking a two week vacation. Two weeks. I don’t want to see you here around the hospital. Everything will run smoothly while you’re away.”

“You realize we don’t have that much vacation time accrued yet. We haven’t even been here a year.”

“Excuses, excuses, doctor,” Bob stands and offers him his hand. “Do we have a deal?”

Reid stares at the outstretched hand and sighs. He hasn’t really given him much of a choice. But, he does reach forward to shake his hand.

“Good,” Bob smiles, obviously pleased with himself as he leaves Reid’s office, closing the door behind him.

Reid reaches for his digital recorder again, dictating a few more notes, “Kill or thank chief of staff depending on boyfriend’s reaction.”

He lowers the recorder a little and sighs before he continues with his dictation.

“Look into rescheduling appointments for next month and cancel upcoming sur -- no, schedule Mrs. Renz for next week.” If he’s going to be forced into a vacation then he’ll give himself one more surgery.

Reid takes his cell phone out of his pocket and considers a text, leaving a voice message for Luke but the rest of his day has already been thrown off by Bob’s little announcement.

Taking some of his files, Reid packs them up in his briefcase, and heads home.

\---

Luke comes home several hours later, eyes red, the tear stains still visible on both cheeks. He looks weary, run down, and Reid’s starting to think a vacation isn’t a terrible idea.

“Hey,” Luke strains to speak, clearing his throat of the lump lodged deep in there.

“Hi,” Reid greets him from his place at the table, files scattered everywhere.

“You went to work?” he wonders, walking to the fridge, and grabbing a bottle of water to drink.

“I was planning on being there today but due to unforeseen circumstances, grabbed what I could, and came back here.” Luke takes the seat next to his and opens his water bottle. Reid watches as he takes a long sip and then places the bottle down on the table. “How’d it go?”

“Can’t you tell?” Luke points to his eyes. “I can’t talk about it right now, Reid. What do you mean unforeseen circumstances?”

“Bob thinks we’re working too hard and we need a break. We’ve been ordered to take a vacation.”

“Wait, what? He can’t do that! I have patients to attend to and I’ve already taken a break because of this and now he thinks taking a trip is going to make me not think about --” Luke pauses, shaking his head. “He can’t do that.”

“I don’t think it’s a terrible idea.”

“Reid, you’re joking right? You, of all people. You have to be kidding me. You’re practically addicted to your work and you’re telling me you’re okay to just take off?” Luke stands up and walks away from the chair, pacing into the living room.

Reid drops his pen and finds himself following Luke. He doesn’t know how it happens but as soon as Luke moves anywhere in this apartment, Reid isn’t far behind.

“No, I’m not okay with taking off. I even tried to convince Bob that, in fact, neither one of us are okay with our chief of staff telling us to take a vacation. I have my patients to attend to, you have yours, and you’ve just returned to work not too long ago.”

“Right, that’s exactly it.”

“On the other hand, Matt’s death threw us for a loop. I don’t know how much of a dedicated doctor I am when I’m thinking about my previous patient and how he’s affecting you and how you’re recovering. Don’t,” holds up his hand. “I’m thinking about you regardless of Matt. I’ve been worried about you ever since your stint in the hospital so it’s not all Matt.”

“Reid,” Luke steps forward and takes one of Reid’s hands into his own. “I don’t want to be the reason your work is suffering.”

“It isn’t suffering. I’m still perfectly capable of performing up to my standards,” he assures Luke. “I just think regrouping isn’t a terrible idea.”

“I didn’t know you regrouped. I thought your idea of relaxation is beating me at chess, watching the Godfather, and reading medical journals.”

“There are other ways to relax,” Reid laces his fingers through Luke’s and pulls him close until their bodies are pressed together. “I’ve …” he can’t believe he’s about to admit this but it’s Luke. Luke always knows things about him he’d never tell another living being. “I’ve never been on a vacation.”

“What!” Luke shouts. “Wait a minute, how can you never have been on vacation?”

“I’m the head of a neurology department and before I ran my own clinic and before that I was in residency and an internship and school and chess tournaments. Who has time for a break?”

“You never took a break during med school to just take some time off?”

“No.”

“Not once?”

“How many different ways are there to say no? No.”

“Reid, that’s just …” Luke takes on a different tone, his body language becoming more comfortable again, and Reid’s annoyed. It’s typical Luke to turn the situation from his problem and focus completely on someone else. If this is going to get Luke to agree with what Reid wants to do then he’ll just go with it. “Well, if you were to go anywhere, where would you want to go?”

“I don’t know,” Reid shrugs his shoulders, releasing Luke’s hand, and falling back on the couch.

Luke falls back with him, pressing himself to Reid’’s side while Reid automatically raises his arm to fit Luke underneath it. “I went to Bali once for spring break.”

“Alone?”

“Completely and totally alone,” Luke smiles and rests his head against Reid’s shoulder, Reid instinctively tightening his hold around Luke. “It was beautiful. I went hiking and went down to the beach. I bought souvenirs for everyone in my family, just little things for Aaron, Natalie, and Faith. Ethan wasn’t born yet. I’ve never felt so at peace as I did when I was over there.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t end up a drug mule. They prey on the young and hot.”

Luke laughs and shakes his head. “I wasn’t around very many people. I stayed in this hut that was practically on the beach.”

“Being rich does mean you don’t have to stay in the hostels.”

Luke playfully slaps Reid’s stomach and then leaves his hand there. “I wasn’t exactly calling room service either. I went into town to eat and just brought back a lot of fruit to snack on. Anyway, I think being there definitely helped. I was having a pretty rough freshman year being away from all my friends and family. I spent every break with them and summer and I realized my junior year if I was diving into med school I wanted to take a trip first.”

“You haven’t traveled since your junior year and you’re giving me a hard time about not traveling?”

“At least I did it. Even if it was only once. The other side trips to Malta certainly don’t count.”

Reid can’t believe he’s referring to the kidnappings as side trips. But, there’s Oakdale and Luke way of thinking.

“So, let’s do it. Take me on my very first vacation.”

Luke lifts his head as he looks at Reid, a list of pro’s and con’s forming. Reid’s able to see that through Luke’s eyes.

“Bob said we have the two weeks whenever we wanna go. I’m already scheduling and rescheduling my patients. I suggest you do the same.”

“Really?” Luke smiles widely. “You wanna go on a trip with me?”

The corniest line in the world briefly flashes through Reid’s mind but there’s no way in hell he’d ever, ever say it out loud. Instead, he says, “Anything to get the hell out of Oakdale.”

Luke smiles and leans forward to kiss him, his fingers coming up and burying them in Reid’s hair. As Reid deepens their kiss, his tongue already snaking into Luke’s mouth, Luke pulls away.

“Patients first and this later.”

“Yeah, no. I don’t really have a lot of patience.”

“Patients, with a T,” Luke chuckles and leans in for another kiss. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he speaks, a serious tone in his voice that Reid can’t mock, not when there are still tears lining the surface of his eyes.

Reid bows his head forward, nodding, and Luke climbs off of him. Luke immediately puts a call in to his assistant and begins to rearrange his schedule.

Did he just agree to go on a trip with Luke Synder? Dr. Reid Oliver on a couples trip. Well, stranger things have happened like moving to the middle of nowhere Illinois, finding himself happy with the quality of work in a no name town, and falling in love with the town’s golden boy.

As he looks over at Luke, he realizes he’s much more.

Luke cares about everyone in his orbit and sometimes Reid can’t believe he’s part of that. He’s transfers the same amount of care to his patients, never once considering them to be just strangers. Reid’s seen the ups and downs of that all in one patient: Matthew. Reid will never forget Matt and he’ll never forget the affect he’ll have on Luke because Luke’s going to carry it with him forever.

Luke smiles at him in the middle of his phone call and Reid can’t help but smile back at him.

That’s what Luke does to him. He makes Reid smile even though he doesn’t want to. He makes Reid care even though he never wants to. He has this power over Reid that’s overwhelming in both the worst and best ways.

If this is what it’s like to date Dr. Luke Snyder? He’ll take it. He’ll take all of it.


	22. Chapter 22

Luke and Reid have spent two weeks in paradise. It’s everything Luke promised him it would be. They’ve been taking in the activities of the island -- jogging on the beach, snorkeling (or watching Luke snorkel while Reid stood off to the side, too claustrophobic to actually participate), zip lining, and paragliding. But there’s no one around for miles near their private villa, there’s a constant flow of food, and the sex has been unbelievable. Luke’s free to shout to the heavens in the middle of an earth shattering orgasm and no one will ever hear him.

Luke’s about to have another one of those orgasms now.

Reid has his arms pinned to the bed, long fingers holding Luke’s wrists tightly as he thrusts his cock in and out of Luke, deep and hard the way that he likes it.

“Reid!” Luke calls out, his voice starting to sound raw. It isn’t the first time it’s happened since they’ve been here. Luke’s been even more vocal than Reid thought possible. Hearing a turned on Luke Snyder only helps turn Reid on and has him seriously reconsidering their living arrangements at home. Living in an apartment gives him a tentative Luke. Living in a house, maybe out of the city a little will give him this uninhibited sex god on a regular basis.

Reid’s fingers press hard into Luke’s skin, his forehead drenched with sweat because of his exertions and because of the tropical humidity. Luke’s hard cock rubs against their slick bodies, the friction sending Luke straight over the edge, and coming hard between them.

Luke’s hole tightens around Reid’s cock, driving up the friction Reid feels. With a few more thrusts, he buries himself inside Luke, coming so hard his entire body tenses until he forces himself to relax.

Collapsing on top of Luke, Luke’s arms circle around his body to hold him close. They both stay silent as they catch their breaths.

Luke leans to press a kiss to Reid’s shoulder and Reid eases himself out of Luke before resting beside him. Luke’s hand captures Reid’s, lacing their fingers together before he brings them up to his lips to kiss. “That was incredible,” Luke speaks against the back of Reid’s hand.

“Yes, I was,” Reid smiles widely and Luke laughs.

Luke eases himself on his side and then he moves to rest his head on top of Reid’s shoulder, not wanting complete body contact because of how warm it is and how warm they both are.

“You were right,” Luke begins. “I needed this and I think you did too. I think being on vacation agrees with you. You actually liked sleeping in. You love the local food.” It’s the first time in Reid’s life that he hasn’t been busy. He’s always busy. When he first got here, he felt kind of restless but he’s pretty sure that Luke’s making sure he’s completely fucked out to be too restless. “You barely insulted anyone. I think I’ve seen you smile more than I’ve seen you scowl.”

“Don’t get used to that. As soon as we’re back in podunk you’ll get your crying nurses and I’ll come home and you’ll turn my frown upside down.” He can’t wait to get back to the hospital and crack open a skull, already thinking about the grey masses lodged inside of what would be an empty cavity if not for the brain. Two weeks of rest is more than enough for him.

“Oh, so that’s my responsibility?”

“Eh, you kind of do it anyway without having to do much of anything. Don’t want to add to your growing list of responsibilities.” Reid glances over at Luke whose smile is way, way too big.

“You know how romantic you are even when you don’t realize you are? Especially when you don’t realize you are.”

“Romance and me don’t really go in the same sentence.”

Luke scoffs when he hears that and leans in for a kiss. “That’s what you think.” Luke turns until he’s on his stomach and rests his fingers against Reid’s bare chest, tracing small, imaginary patterns on his skin as they talk. “In the past few months I’ve learned when it’s like to be in a real relationship. I may have been in a relationship for years --”

“Don’t say the “N” word,” Reid groans. He’s really hoping they can go for an entire two weeks without hearing the name Noah.

“But,” Luke emphasizes, laughing at Reid’s strong reaction. “But, they don’t even compare. They’re not even close. Do you know how long I’ve waited for someone to want me? Do you know I just wanted to be wanted? Love isn’t conditional for me. If someone says they love you, they love you, and they accept you for who you are. They don’t try to change you or try to make you live up to their high expectations or ideals.”

They don’t really have these kind of talks often. Sure, they talk about past relationships, or in Reid’s case, past flirtations or flings that resemble dates or boyfriends but don’t last more than a week or less. One of the reasons they don’t talk about these things is because Reid has nothing to contribute, this is his first real relationship, and Luke’s forays into relationships have resulted in disappointment and unhappiness.

“And who are the hypothetical ‘they’?” Reid does loving his ego stroked as well as other parts of his body but these compliments from Luke leave him completely euphoric. He admits to himself, briefly, that he can equate them with the high he gets from an orgasm with Luke. He thinks admitting this out loud will give him a series of multiple orgasms but he’ll hold off on it for now and save the thought for a rainy day.

“You. Just you,” Luke brings his hand up, his fingers touching the curve of Reid’s neck before caressing his cheek. “I thought I lost the only person who would ever want me but I just didn’t know something better was out there for me.”

Reid thinks Luke’s never deserved everything that’s been thrown his way. He’s been through a lot, more than most, and Reid definitely thinks he deserves better. He deserves everything he wants and being with Luke Snyder, he’s learned he usually gets those things in the end, “You know, you’re kinda torturing me with all of this lovey dovey stuff.”

“I don’t see or hear you objecting so if this is you feeling tortured, I think I can handle it.”

“You handle me very well,” Reid smirks and places his hand on Luke’s arm, slowly rubbing his fingertips over his cool skin. The wind’s picking up a little and cooling their naked bodies. Luke moves even closer to him now and Reid leans in for a kiss.

“Part of the job. I know how to handle ornery and easily irritated patients,” Luke chuckles against his lips.

“You’re going to pay for that, Dr. Snyder.”

“I sure hope so, Dr. Oliver.”

Reid flips Luke on his back and they start round … Reid’s lost count by now.

\---

Luke walks to the next stand and picks out a few postcards before Reid looks over his shoulder. “What are you buying postcards for? We’re leaving tomorrow.”

“I just wanna send out something out to everyone before we leave. I don’t want them to think I haven’t been thinking about them.”

“You haven’t been thinking about them,” Reid reminds him. Luke can only glare before he counts the postcards he has in his hands. “Besides, don’t you think they’ll be happy just getting all that cheap stuff you bought them?” Reid motions to the bag in Luke’s hand, already filled to the top with things for the younger siblings and his parents.

“No,” Luke responds immediately. “And don’t think I didn’t see you buying some cheap stuff for Katie and stuffing it in your pocket.”

“Never denied it,” Reid walks away to browse through the shelves, finding nothing of interest. He doesn’t need any physical object to remind him of their time here. The memories are fully intact in his mind.

Glancing at Luke, watching him rush to the counter to check out everything he’s picked up in the store, Reid sometimes wonders how he’s ended up with a guy who smiles the way Luke does, who’s genuinely happy at the thought of buying things for other other, who even thinks about other people. Reid’s so not that guy. Then, Reid bumps into a counter, the keychain he bought for Katie pokes his leg, and he chuckles to himself. Maybe he and Luke are both rubbing off on each other a little. Months ago, Reid wouldn’t even have thought about buying anything at all for anything else. Months ago, Reid wouldn’t have had any friends to buy things for.

Luke catches his gaze and smiles at him. Reid swears he can feel his heart thud against his chest the second it happens. Reid smiles back at him a little and decides to join him over by the counter, standing behind him, and pressing his weight against Luke’s back.

“We’re outta here in a minute and then dinner.”

“Dinner?” Reid perks up at the thought. Not only is this island the perfect place for loud, loud sex but they have had some incredible meals here. How they’re going to go back to Oakdale, the little town gourmet food forgot, he doesn’t know.

“Yes, I have reservations for us and everything. We’ll just drop these off at our place first,” Luke waves the bag at him and begins the walk back to their rental car. Reid’s arm slides around Luke’s waist, his hand resting against Luke’s hip as they take a walk across the parking lot.

If they were on any other island and they can’t do this in public. Reid’s never been closeted in his life but he knows there are plenty of reasons to be cautious about your environment. He remembers Luke googling “gay vacation spots in the Caribbean” that resulted in a Top Five List of Gay Friendly Areas. One had mentioned private villas and Luke went straight to the phone to make a reservation for them.

It’s a private villa on the beach and it’s everything they show in those flowery commercials on TV -- the white curtains wafting in the breeze, the direct view of the ocean, the white tiled floors, and large four poster bed in the middle of the room.

Reid doesn’t hate it. The minute Luke saw it, he dragged Reid into the room, and decided they needed to test the bed. That probably contributed to him hating it less.

At night, they open the double doors that open out to the beach -- a private stretch of land reserved for villa renters only. The wind is warm and lingers on their skin when they’re naked.

Reid pushes Luke up against the car when they reach it and Luke laughs.

“How much time do we have before dinner?”

Luke brings his free hand to cup the side of Reid’s neck as he thinks about it, “Uh, probably not long enough to do everything we did yesterday.”

Yesterday mostly consisted of staying in their villa, having plenty of sex, and only taking bathroom and food breaks. The breaks never really lasted very long.

“It’s our last night and I want to take you out.” There’s an undertone to Luke’s voice that suspiciously sounds like a whine.

“You wanna wine me and dine me, huh?”

“It is your favorite past time aside from the life-saving brain operations you do and chess and the other things you’re good at,” Luke blushes a little, ducking his head, and it’s both hot and adorable that an almost 30-year-old can’t brag about the incredible sex he’s having. Reid can’t help but smile and find it, God help him, endearing.

“Seriously, how much time?”

Luke looks down at his watch, “Maybe 30 minutes if we go now and change really, really fast.”

“Let’s go,” Reid grabs the keys from his pocket and immediately releases Luke.

They make it back to the villa, have more unbelievably good sex, and make it to the restaurant in record time.

\---

Luke’s gone all out for their last night and is really pulling out all the stops. Their private table is outside on a patio. They have a private waiter to attend to their dining needs. They have the chef’s prepared several course meal. They’re somewhere toward the end of the meal when Luke’s hand moves on top of Reid’s and Reid turns his hand to link their fingers together.

“You’re definitely getting laid tonight, Dr. Synder,” Reid smirks and Luke laughs. He loves he can make Luke laugh.

“I was hoping for that. I’m sick and tired of you holding out on me.”

Luke seems a lot better than when they first arrived here. His mind had been completely occupied by Oakdale, by Matthew, by his patients, and that’s not to say Reid’s wasn’t. He’s constantly thinking about his patients and about the type of doctors they’re seeing when he isn’t there. No one had been scheduled for surgery so he knows there’s no one else around to butcher them and that makes him feel secure. He’ll be there for them when he returns.

“What’s on your mind?” Luke asks, snapping him away from his thoughts. “Already back at work?”

Reid smirks and looks down at their hands. He nods, unable to deny it. “You’re better?” he asks, looking back at him.

Luke hesitates briefly but also nods. “I’m better. I’m ready to get back to work and do what I do. Matthew had been … he’s been a … I’ve learned a lot from him and because of him. It’s been tough and I know it hasn’t been easy for you either. Those first few nights you were restless.”

“Losing a patient is the worst part of all of this especially someone with so much --” Every patient deserves life but especially the ones that have never experienced life. Matthew had his whole life ahead of him and he should’ve been able to live it.

“It’s okay,” Luke says to comfort him, his thumb rubbing over his skin slowly. “I know.”

“He was a great kid and watching the two of you together was something else,” Reid chuckles, the memory of Luke and Matthew laughing together comes to mind. Luke relates to these kids. He’s a kid at heart himself because he’s a caring guy, someone who still maintains a sense of innocence.

“It was,” Luke laughs with him. “I had a lot of fun with him. I’m also really, really glad you were there. I had the help of a brilliant neurosurgeon and you were able to give Matt a little more time. We had him for … for as long as we could. He had a little more time and it matters. It does.” He can hear an almost pleading tone in Luke’s voice, wanting to convince him, to believe what he says, and Reid does believe him.

“Yeah, I know,” Reid smiles at him because he thinks that Luke needs to see it and Luke returns the smile.

Dessert arrives for them then and it’s a masterpiece. It’s a large plate of different desserts to try and share. Reid dives in for the piece of chocolate right in front of him and pops it in his mouth.

“Reid!” Luke swats his hand away from the tray.

“What?” Reid asks with his mouth full.

“You have to savor these. It’s not popcorn. Don’t stuff them down until they all blend together.”

“They’re going to blend in my stomach anyway. Why bother?”

“Because,” Luke’s blushing a little and Reid eyes him, raising his eyebrows with curiosity.

“Because?”

“I thought we could share.” Luke lifts the small plate of tiramisu, cutting into the piece, and resting it on his fork. He leans forward a little and holds it close to Reid’s lips.

Food play. Reid can get into this. They’ve already experienced it earlier in the trip with Luke feeding him tropical fruit from a basket. Reid said he was Alexander the Great and Luke was his slave boy. They had a lot of fun that night.

Reid leans forward and covers the fork with his mouth, pulling off of it and savoring the taste of the dessert on his tongue. Luke’s right. Damn him. It does taste good to savor it. Nothing on the plate is in danger of melting and each item is practically finger food.

“I love watching your mouth.”

“So different from when we met and you couldn’t stand me or my mouth.”

“That isn’t true!” Luke objects immediately. “I thought you were hot even if I thought you were a jerk.” He cuts a piece for himself and takes a bite. Yeah, Reid’s not the feeding type unless he’s feeding Luke his cock.

“I thought you were sexy as hell even if you annoyed me.”

“You did?” Luke crinkles his nose, a curious expression settling in afterward.

“Well, after the Halloween thing, you had to hit me up for every single major holiday.”

“You never complained,” Luke points his fork at him and Reid dives in to try a different pastry and aims for the fruit tart.

“What? I complained every chance I got.”

“Yeah and then you went ahead and did whatever I wanted anyway,” Luke’s proud and his smile shows it.

“You’re very persuasive, Dr. Snyder.”

He remembers their first kiss and the way Luke took what he wanted from him. He remembers Luke trying to run away from him because of the secrets he kept. He remembers Luke’s low self-esteem and thinking there wasn’t a man in the world who wanted to be with him. He’s glad he’s the guy who can show him how wrong he is. When Luke smiles at him, it tells him it’s getting a little easier to believe there’s a man who wants him.

“Thank you, Reid,” Luke’s serious now as if he can read Reid’s thoughts. It’s impossible. Reid can’t possibly be that transparent. He’s worked very hard to not be transparent. But, maybe Luke can read him now. They’ve been together for a few months. Is it possible to feel this connected to someone in just a few months?

“I know we’ve already been through a lot,” Luke continues. “We’ve been through a lot and in … sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s only been six, almost seven months now,” he smirks, briefly moving his fingers through his hair. “I feel like I’ve known you forever.”

Reid can’t imagine a life without Luke in it. He’s fallen for him fast and hard and even though it scares the hell out of him sometimes, he knows he’s a better man for being with Luke Snyder.

Probably for the first time in his life, Reid moves a whole tray of desserts aside so he isn’t distracted by them and so he can take Luke’s hands in his. Reid’s hands are everything to him and he places them into the palms of someone he knows will protect them and protect him if he ever needs it.

He’s seen the way Luke loves and he feels grateful to be part of the inner circle.

“I don’t want to lose you,” Reid tells him.

“Reid, you won’t,” Luke replies, ducking his head to be able to catch Reid’s eye but Reid’s still looking away from him until he’s ready. “You’ll never lose me.”

“I need you to keep fighting,” Reid lifts his head now, gazing at Luke so seriously Luke straightens up and pays attention. “I need you to take care of your kidney. I need you to not overwork yourself. I need you to stay you and not let anyone change you, not even me. I just need you, Luke.” There’s no better time to say these things. They’re in a place where all they’ve done is concentrate on each other and when they get back into the real world, he needs to make sure these things stay in Luke’s mind.

“You have me, Reid. I need you too and I promise I’ll do these things. I want to be there for you, for me, and for us. I want us to have a life together. I’ve even,” Luke pauses, squeezing Reid’s friends and chuckling, “I’ve even started looking at houses.”

“You have?”

“Yeah. The apartment’s too small for us and we need office space.” They’re both pretty messy in their own ways and their living room more or less always has various papers scattered around the floor. “We need room to grow and just a better space for us. What do you think?”

“You’ve read my mind,” Reid admits. “When can we move in?”

“Haven’t bought the house yet. We’ll both look when we go back home.” Now the mood has lightened between them, Luke says, “So, did we just exchange vows?” Reid scoffs and shakes his head. “We couldn’t have picked a better place for it -- on the beach with the waves crashed, underneath the moonlight, and a whole tray of desserts waiting to be devoured.”

“One step at a time, Dr. Snyder.”

Luke bites his lip at those words and raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Really? You’ve thought about it? You’ve thought about getting married?”

Reid quickly backtracks and realizes what he’s just said. His words are a slip. It’s something he jokes about. It’s something he’s never really thought about before all of this with Luke. But he doesn’t really believe in all the vows and promises people are forced to keep if they’re no longer in a relationship that works. There’s no point to it if they don’t like being together anymore and they shouldn’t be forced to stay together.

When he looks at Luke, he doesn’t think he’ll ever feel way about him. It’s hard to believe he ever could. He doesn’t know what the future holds but he knows he believes in the words he’s just said to him. He doesn’t want to lose him and he needs him.

“It’s crossed my mind,” he admits. “It’s what you want, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know. I never really thought anyone would ever want to marry me. Besides, I haven’t really seen the good marriage does anyone. People cheat while they’re married. My parents have been married and divorced and married while divorced and any which way you can think of,” Luke begins to play with Reid’s fingers, moving his through them, and holding on to them. “What about you? Is this what you want?”

“The idea of you bound to me for life is appealing,” he smirks. “Don’t have to make any decisions about it now but … maybe.”

“Maybe,” Luke nods. “I admit I really like the sound of it. The invitations will be fun -- Doctor Reid Oliver and Doctor Luke Snyder request your presence …”

Luke’s smiling now as he imagines it and that answers everything for Reid. “You’ve got that dreamy look in your eyes.”

“I don’t mind thinking about it but weddings aren’t you, Reid.”

“No, they’re not,” he confirms for him. Luke nods but then Reid goes on, “But if they’re you then I can’t say that I’m as adamant about disliking them as I once was.”

Luke smiles widely and then leans across the table to kiss Reid, “Like you said, Dr. Oliver. We’ll do this one step at a time. If the step comes then at least I know that you might be open to the idea. That means a lot,” his knuckles gently graze Reid’s cheek and then he leans in for another kiss.

“Can we take these to go?” Reid asks, speaking against Luke’s lips before leaning in for another kiss.

“Definitely,” Luke nods and signals for the waiter. He asks him for the check and goes right back to kissing Reid. “This is one reason why I asked for the private patio,” Luke smiles and gently kisses Reid’s lower lip.

“Was kinda hoping to do more than make it to first base,” Reid reaches for the first button on Luke’s shirt and pops it open, his hand slipping inside to brush his fingers against his collarbone.

Luke laughs but pulls away to sit back down in his chair. “You can wait a few more minutes.”

“Mm-hmm, the question is, can you?” Reid slips his shoe off and brings his sock covered foot up between Luke’s legs to press directly against his cock. Luke gasps just as the waiter brings back the check. The timing brings a smile to Reid’s face that he hides behind his hands and slowly lowers his foot, putting his shoe back on.

“I’m gonna get you for that one day when you least expect it,” Luke shoots him a glare and then signs his name on the bill.

“Yeah, yeah, enough with the empty threats. They only make me hornier.”

“Well, in that case, I should’ve started when we first got here.”

Once Luke’s finished and their bag of desserts is boxed and packed up, they both stand, and Luke stops to look out toward the sand and the view of the ocean. He reaches for Reid’s hand and pulls him toward the beach.

“Hey, what are you doing?” he’s protesting even as he walks with Luke. One minute they’re going back to their place and the next he’s being dragged toward the beach.

“We’re doing something that we haven’t done once since we’ve been here.” Luke releases his hand once they’ve reached the edge where the restaurant stops being the restaurant and the concrete meets the sand. He takes off his shoes and his socks and keeps them in one hand with their leftover dessert, waiting for Reid to do the same. “Come on, Reid.”

“If you want sand all over the place when we get back then that’s all on you,” Reid complains but he takes off his socks and his shoes, doing the same as Luke.

Luke then takes his hand again, lacing their fingers together, and they begin to walk on the sand. Luke walks them out until their feet are touching the wet sand and Reid pulls a face, making Luke laugh. “Is it really that bad?”

“It’s all wet and goopy and rough and all I can imagine is finding sand in inappropriate places,” he shudders. Does Luke find this romantic? The sand is squishing between his toes and he wants to walk straight into the ocean to wash it off.

“We’re not having sex in it. We’re just taking a nice walk back to our place instead of taking a car.” They’re not too far from their rental place and it’s not a bad idea. They’ll be able to digest their food and nothing in their take out bag of desserts is going to melt. They might even work up a different type of appetite once they get there. Reid can get behind that.

“Back to Oakdale tomorrow,” Luke’s almost upset when he says it. “Part of me thinks that this has been one long dream.”

“Want me to pinch you to try to wake you up?” Reid quickly releases his hand and tries to, Luke squirms away from him but he’s laughing. When they settle down, Luke fits against Reid’s side as Reid throws an arm around his shoulders.

They both remain silent as they talk their walk down the beach looking ridiculously domestic, ridiculously couply. Reid likes to pretend it bothers him but it doesn’t bother him at all. Who wouldn’t want to be seen with a guy like Luke? Well, any moron Luke had been with but that’s beside the point. Their loss is Reid’s gain. That’s probably his mantra.

When they reach their villa, Luke drops Reid’s hand, his socks and shoes, and the wrapped dessert on the sand. “What -- what are you doing?” Reid asks, more shocked the desserts are now going to taste like sand.

Luke says nothing but begins to strip, taking off his shirt, his slacks and underwear until he’s completely naked. Throwing his clothes at Reid, he smiles at him, and then runs out into the water.

“Don’t come crying to me if the hypothermia begins to set in!” Reid calls after him.

“It’s warm!” Luke calls back, dipping his head into the water, and quickly coming back out again. “Get out here!”

“Are you crazy?”

Luke’s splashing around in the ocean and all Reid can think about is a tide sweeping him away and Reid giving his account of the last time he saw Luke floating out into …

Okay.

Reid quickly removes his clothes and runs out to join him.

“Hi!” Luke swims up to Reid, wrapping his arms around his neck.

“You’re nuts, you know that?” Reid’s hands are on Luke’s waist, pulling him close. “I just didn’t want you to get sucked into the ocean somewhere. I have to keep an eye on you. The children of Oakdale are depending on me,” he uses his most sickeningly sweet voice, sarcasm dripping from his voice and Luke slaps his arm.

“I do like it when you keep an eye on me though,” he glances down at Reid’s lips before looking into his eyes. Without hesitating, he leans in for a hard, rough kiss. Luke’s lips taste like the sea and his tongue is warm against his. Before he realizes what’s happening, he’s swallowing ocean water. He sputters and glares at Luke who’s looking at him with a completely innocent look on his face.

And that’s how Reid finds himself chasing Dr. Luke Snyder in the ocean (he won’t use the word frolicking even though he thinks it), having a water fight, and reverting to the age of 5. Reid’s laughing hard and when Luke finally waves the hypothetical white flag, Reid pulls him into his arms again.

Luke’s back is pressed to Reid’s chest as they wade in the water, catching their breath. They both look out in the distance, the world seemingly endless as dark sky meets dark ocean. It’s so peaceful and quiet. It feels like they’re the only two people on the planet.

Reid bends his head down to drop a kiss to the crook of Luke’s neck. Luke slowly turns around in his arms, their naked bodies pressing together underneath the water. His hand comes up to cup Reid’s cheek and he leans in to kiss him.

It feels like a long time before he pulls away, the kiss leaving Reid a little weak in the knees. It’s a disadvantage they’re in the ocean because it feels like he can drift away.

“I love you, Dr. Oliver,” Luke smiles, speaking quietly.

“I love you too, Dr. Snyder,” Reid finds himself very easily smiling back at him.

The water moves around them, the two of them stationary with the sand keeping them affixed and stable on the ground.

Reid pulls Luke in for another kiss, cupping his face between his hands.

Luke’s turned Reid’s life upside down, shook it around, and caused a critical mass of emotions and feelings that Reid didn’t think he had or buried so deeply he didn’t know if he wanted those things anymore. But it’s worth it for all of this.

Reid can see the beauty in this life despite the mess and all because of Dr. Luke Snyder.

The End


End file.
